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ABNORMAL  PSYCHOLOGY 


ABNORMAL  PSYCHOLOGY 


BY 


ISADOR  H.  CORIAT,  M.D. 

Pirat  Assiitant  Vifiting  Physician  tor  Diseases  of  the  Nervous  System, 

Boston  City  Hoapital.    Instructor  in  Neurolonr,  Tufta 

College  Medical  School 


NEW  YORK 

MOFFAT,  YARD  AND  CX)MPANY 

1917 


Copyright,  1910,  1914.  bt 

MOFFAT,  YABD  AND  COMPANY 

Nkw  York 

All  RU/hta  Reserved 
Fifth  Printing,  AprU,  1917 


113 

a 


VNIVEPSATY  OP  CALIFO^ 
SANTA  BARBARA  COLLiJGE  L 


TO 

DR.  MORTON  PRINCE 

IN  APPRECIATION  OF  HIS  PIONEER  WORK 
IN  ABNORMAL  PSYCHOLOGY 


CONTENTS 

PART  I 

THE  EXPLORATION  OF  THE 
SUBCONSCIOUS 

CHAFTSS  »AOB 

I.     The  Subconscious 3 

1.    The  Subconscious  Defined  .  8 

%    The  Modem  Theories  of  the  Sub- 
conscious      9 

8.    The  Subconscious  Mechanism  in 

Everyday  Life  ...         .22 
4.    How   the   Subconscious   Becomes 

Diseased 32 

U.     Automatic  Wbiting  and  Crystal  Gazing  39 

UL     Testing  the  Emotions     ....  64 

rV.     Analyzing  the  Emotions        ...  81 

V.     Sleep 103 

VL     Dreams 138 

VII.     Freud's  Theory  of  Dreams  .        .        .  161 

VIIL     Hypnosis 189 

IX.     Analysis  of  the  Mental  Life              .211 
Psycho-Analysis  of  a  Case  of  Hys- 
teria    228 

ix 


CONTENTS 

PART  II 

THE  DISEASES  OF  THE 
SUBCONSCIOUS 

CHAFTEB  PAOB 

I.     Losses  of  Memoby 241 

II.     The  Restoration  of  Lost  Memories     .  259 

III.  Illusions  of  Memory       ....  272 

IV.  The  Splitting  op  a  Pebsonalitt  .        .  280 
V.     Hysteria    .       .       .        .       .       .       ;.  297 

VI.     Psychasthenia 339 

VII.     Neurasthenia   .......  364 

VIII.     Psycho-Epileptic  Attacks     .       .:       .  384 

IX.     Colored  Hearing 392 

X.     The  Prevention  of  the  Neuroses       .  413 

Index 425 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION 

It  is  extremely  gratifying  to  the  author  that  a  second 
edition  of  this  book  should  be  called  for  within  the  space 
of  three  years.  During  this  period  abnormal  psy- 
chology has  made  steady  and  important  advances,  par- 
ticularly in  the  field  of  psycho-analysis  with  its  various 
applications  to  the  neuroses,  wit,  literature,  mythology, 
and  folk  lore.  For  reasons  of  space,  however,  and  be- 
cause such  material  does  not  really  lend  itself  to  popu- 
lar presentation,  the  important  subject  of  psycho- 
analysis has  been  presented  only  in  its  general  out- 
lines. Several  new  chapters  have  been  added,  one  on 
Freud's  theory  of  dreams,  one  on  the  prevention  of  the 
neuroses,  and  one  on  colored  hearing.  This  latter 
chapter  has  been  reprinted,  with  a  few  modifications, 
from  my  contributions  on  colored  hearing  to  the  Jour- 
nal of  Abnormal  Psychology.  In  addition,  the  chapter 
on  the  Subconscious  has  been  rewritten,  to  conform 
with  the  most  recent  psycho-analytic  conceptions.  I 
have  also  added  my  researches  on  the  nature  and  evolu- 
tion of  sleep  and  hypnosis.  A  large  number  of  other 
important  additions  and  changes  have  been  made,  to 
bring  the  book  in  line  with  the  latest  advances  in  ab- 
normal psychology. 

ISADOE  H.  COKIAT. 

Boston,  November,  1913. 

416  Marlborough  St. 


INTRODUCTION 

Abnormal  psychology,  or  the  study  of  ab- 
normal mental  phenomena,  is  one  of  the  late 
developments  of  scientific  medicine.  It  is  not 
a  mere  fad,  as  some  of  its  critics  would  attempt 
to  make  us  believe,  neither  has  it  sprimg  up 
like  a  mushroom,  within  a  single  night.  Ab- 
normal psychology  is  the  outcome  of  the  work 
of  small  groups  of  investigators  in  France, 
Germany,  and  America,  within  the  last  twenty- 
five  years.  Beginning  with  a  study  of  the 
phenomena  of  hypnosis,  these  researches  gradu- 
ally developed  into  a  series  of  brilliant  psycho- 
logical discoveries.  The  most  important  of 
these  is  the  principle  of  dissociation  or  of 
splitting  of  the  mind.  In  a  general  way  we 
speak  of  these  matters  as  the  theory  of  the 
subconscious.  This  theory  has  not  only  thrown 
an  inmiense  amount  of  light  on  the  nature  of 
human  personality,  but  other  pecuUar  phenom- 
ena, such  as  losses  of  memory  or  amnesia, 
automatic  writing,  crystal  gazing,  and  such  dis- 
eases as  neurasthenia,  hysteria,  psychasthenia, 
have  been  stripped  of  the  mystery  which  sur- 


xu 


INTRODUCTION 


rounded  them  for  centuries.  These  phenomena, 
even  more  than  the  modern  investigations  on 
the  ultimate  nature  of  matter,  form  the  "  fairy- 
land of  science."  Apart  from  any  scientific 
knowledge,  the  general  reader  has  a  certain 
interest  in  these  problems,  either  from  curiosity 
or  the  light  they  shed  upon  human  personahty 
or  perhaps  from  the  mystery  which  seems  to 
surround  them. 

Abnormal  psychology  has  also  its  practical 
aspects.  Its  discoveries  have  made  possible  the 
psychic  treatment  of  certain  functional  nervous 
disorders.  Technically,  this  is  known  as  psycho- 
therapeutics. The  interpretation  of  these  func- 
tional states  is  based  on  the  principle  of  the 
dissociation  of  consciousness.  But  psychothera- 
peutics would  be  in  a  very  chaotic  condition  and 
barren  of  results,  were  it  not  for  abnormal 
psychology,  for  a  scientific  psychotherapeutics 
must  be  based  upon  a  sound  psychopathology. 

Most  of  the  investigations  on  abnormal 
psychology  are  widely  scattered  in  medical  pub- 
hcations  and  in  psychological  journals  of  a 
highly  speciahzed  character,  thereby  making 
these  researches  almost  inaccessible  to  the  gen- 
eral reader.  There  has  been  no  attempt,  so  far 
as  known,  to  bring  all  this  material  together 
within  the  compass  of  a  single  book.  It  is 
with  this  object  in  view  that  the  present  volume 


INTRODUCTION  aaii 

was  written.  In  it  an  attempt  will  be  made,  not 
only  to  summarize  the  principal  work  in  this 
fascinating  field,  but  also  some  personal  ob- 
servations and  experiments  will  be  added. 

Most  of  the  problems  of  abnormal  psychology 
centre  around  the  modern  theory  of  the  sub- 
conscious. While  there  is  no  consensus  of 
opinion  as  to  the  exact  interpretation  of  these 
subconscious  phenomena,  yet  it  is  admitted  by 
all  psychologists  that  subconscious  or  disso- 
ciated mental  states  exist.  Whether  these  states 
depend  upon  psychological  or  physiological  ac- 
tivities, or  whether  they  are  normal  or  abnormal 
conditions,  seems  to  be  the  chief  ground  of  con- 
tention. It  seems  that  subconscious  manifesta- 
tions present  all  grades  of  complexity,  from  the 
absent-mindedness  of  everyday  life  to  the  phe- 
nomena of  hysteria  and  multiple  personality. 
Before  we  can  comprehend  the  more  compli- 
cated aspects  of  subconscious  mental  states  we 
must  have  a  clear  understanding  of  their  simpler 
manifestations.  The  evidence  seems  to  show 
that  subconscious  mental  states  are  not  always 
proofs  of  disease,  but  just  where  the  physio- 
logical ends  and  where  the  pathological  begins, 
is  difficult  to  determine.  No  hard  and  fast 
line  can  be  drawn,  there  is  a  decided  overlap- 
ping, an  almost  imperceptible  shading  of  one 
into  the  other.    For  in  psychology  as  in  pathol- 


x\y  INTRODUCTION 

ogy,  the  normal  explains  the  diseased,  and  the 
diseased  throws  light  on  the  normal.  Absent- 
mindedness,  the  forgetting  of  familiar  names, 
pm*poseless  or  thoughtless  actions,  all  these  may 
be  designated  as  normal  states  of  mental  dis- 
sociation, because  they  occur  in  everyday  life. 
On  the  other  hand,  such  manifestations  as 
hysteria  or  multiple  personality  or  losses 
of  memory  are  distinctly  pathological  con- 
ditions. 

Therefore,  in  order  that  clearness  may  not  be 
sacrificed,  we  must  pass  by  slow  gradations  from 
the  simplest  to  the  most  complex  forms  of  sub- 
conscious mental  states.  We  must  understand 
the  normal  before  we  can  hope  to  grasp  the 
abnormal.  Without  adopting  this  method,  we 
would  become  lost  in  a  maze  of  psychological 
theories.  After  we  have  learned,  so  to  speak, 
the  grammar  of  abnormal  psychology,  by  this 
meaning  the  psychopathology  of  everyday  hfe, 
we  are  then  in  a  position  to  understand  the 
work  on  hysteria,  neurasthenia,  amnesia,  mul- 
tiple personality,  etc.  These  subjects  will  be 
discussed  from  the  standpoint  of  dissociated 
mental  states,  without  entering  into  the  field 
of  psychical  research.  We  shall  see  that  these 
phenomena  can  be  explained  by  purely  psycho- 
logical and  physiological  mechanisms  based  on 
well-recognized  laws  of  body  and  mind,   and 


INTRODUCTION  xf. 

that  there  is  no  need  of  supernormal  interpreta- 
tions. 

This  volume  is,  therefore,  divided  into  two 
parts,  which  are  indicated  by  the  titles  "  The 
Exploration  of  the  Subconscious "  and  the 
"  Diseases  of  the  Subconscious."  In  the  first 
section,  after  a  discussion  of  subconscious  phe- 
nomena in  general,  we  will  pass  to  the  methods 
of  analyzing  these  phenomena  and  making  them 
objective  facts.  The  second  section  will  be 
devoted  to  a  study  of  certain  functional  dis- 
turbances which,  either  in  whole  or  in  part,  are 
due  to  perversions  of  subconscious  mental  states. 

In  general  what  can  psychotherapy,  in  its 
purely  practicable  aspects  learn  from  these  com- 
plex theories?  What  can  psychotherapy  do 
and  how  does  it  do  it?  That  the  principles  are 
eminently  practicable  is  shown  by  the  results 
of  psychotherapy.  The  modem  concepts  of  the 
principles  of  mental  dissociation  and  mental 
synthesis,  of  subconscious  and  unconscious  men- 
tal states  were  the  forces  which  were  responsible 
for  the  birth  of  this  new  psychology  in  its  prac- 
ticable application  to  medicine.  Popular  ideas 
on  suggestion  are  so  loose  and  vague  that  a 
restatement  of  the  scientific  principles  upon 
which  suggestion  is  based  may  have  a  certain 
value.  It  seems  to  be  the  general  idea  that 
suggestion  is  a  kind  of  magic  wand  in  the  hand 


xvl  INTRODUCTION 

of  the  physician,  and  that  the  waving  of  this 
wand  can  make  diseases  appear  or  disappear  in 
the  same  manner  that  a  rabbit  appears  to  sud- 
denly pop  out  of  the  magician's  silk  hat.  So 
suggestion  has  come  to  have  a  certain  occult  or 
mystical  meaning,  in  the  same  way  that  the  term 
subconscious  has  been  popularly  interpreted  as  a 
supernatural  state  of  mind.  We  hope  to  show 
that  nothing  of  this  sort  is  possible  and  that 
psychotherapy  cannot  change  one  iota  of  the 
laws  of  the  mechanism  of  consciousness.  Func- 
tional neuroses  do  not  get  well  by  a  presto 
change  method.  Their  treatment  requires  long 
study,  numerous  examinations,  a  knowledge  of 
the  theoretical  and  practical  principles  of  ab- 
normal psychology  and  of  all  the  diagnostic 
methods  of  modern  medicine. 

Boston,  January,  1910. 


PART  I 

THE   EXPLORATION  OF  THE 
SUBCONSCIOUS 


ABNORMAL  PSYCHOLOGY 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 
1.  The  Subconscious  Defined 

The  term  "  subconscious,"  or  as  it  is  some- 
times called  "  Unconscious,"  has  been  distorted 
by  popular  usage  to  mean  almost  anything 
beyond  the  pale  of  ordinary  experience.  It  is 
applied  in  these  pages  only  to  certain  well- 
attested  psychological  phenomena,  phenomena 
which  present  themselves  in  different  ways 
varying  according  to  the  standpoint  or  experi- 
ence of  the  observer. /The  student  of  mental 
disorders  interprets  the  subconscious  in  terms 
of  derangement  of  certain  functions  of  the 
nervous  system;  to  one  interested  in  the  func- 
tions themselves,  the  subconscious  means  an 
inability  to  reproduce,  at  will  and  without  the 
aid  of  a  special  technique,  the  images  of  past 
experiences;  the  psychologist  regards  the  sub- 
conscious as  an  independent  consciousness,  co- 
existent with  the  healthy  consciousness  but 
detached  from  it. 

8 


4   EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

Let  it  be  stated  at  the  beginning,  however, 
that  while  this  detached  portion  of  conscious- 
ness is  able  to  do  any  mental  task,  it  cannot, 
however,  perform  so-called  supernatural  feats, 
at  least  so  far  as  any  reliable  scientific  evidence 
has  shown.  If  the  mind  of  an  individual,  suf- 
fering from  hysteria,  for  example,  is  possessed 
by  a  system  of  independent,  subconscious  ideas, 
(or  complexes  as  they  are  technically  termed) 
of  which  the  individual's  personality  is  ignorant 
or  unaware  and  yet  that  personality  is  under 
the  control  of  these  complexes,  the  term  disso- 
ciation is  applied  to  this  group  of  independent, 
subconscious  ideas.  Dissociation  therefore,  is  a 
pathological  phenomenon,  originating,  as  will 
be  later  demonstrated,  from  the  resistance  built 
up  by  mental  repression  or  from  conscious  or 
unconscious  mental  conflicts. 

Since  these  states  of  mental  dissociation  are 
clinical  phenomena  of  the  nervous  system,  we 
will  first  very  briefly  direct  our  attention  to  a 
few  of  these.  The  nervous  system  is  the  do- 
main of  consciousness,  associative  memory,  and 
^'Teflex  action.  The  chief  functional  character- 
istics of  the  nervous  system  are-^the  storing  up 
of  impressions  and  their  reproduction  in  the 
order  in  which  they  are  stored  up,  reflex  action, 
and  conduction.  The  first  of  these  functions, 
the  storing  up  of  impressions,  is  the  most  im- 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  6 

portant,  as  it  probably  forms  the  physical  basis 
of  memory.  However,  the  exact  correlation  of 
mental  processes  with  physical  changes  in  the 
brain  is  impossible.  As  Tyndall  says,  "  The 
passage  from  physics  to  the  phenomena  of  con- 
sciousness is  unthinkable."  Bergson  has  more 
recently  attempted  to  correlate  brain  states 
with  memory,  but  as  with  all  attempts  in  this 
direction,  only  with  indifferent  success.  He 
states,  for  instance,^  "  The  cerebral  mechan- 
ism does  in  some  sort  condition  memories  but 
it  is  in  no  way  sufficient  to  ensure  their  sur- 
vival." That  a  close  relationship  between  brain 
and  memory  exists,  however,  is  shown  by  certain 
clinical  phenomena  which  follow  a  localized  de- 
struction of  brain  tissue  through  hemorrhage  or 
tumors.  As  examples  of  this  condition  may  be 
mentioned  the  loss  of  motor  memories  which 
cause  motor  apraxia  and  therefore  disorders  of 
voluntary  acts  and  movements,  or  of  auditory 
or  visual  memories,  which  produce  the  various 
types  of  speech-disorder  known  as  aphasia. 
We  may  state  in  general,  however,  although  this 
statement  will  not  bear  rigid  critical  analysis, 
that  the  brain  probably  stores  up  impressions 
in  the  manner  that  the  phonograph  cylinder 
stores  up  sound  vibrations  and  reproduces  these 
as  sounds.     Or  the  analogy  might  be  carried 

*"  Matter  and  Memory,"  p,  84; 


6   EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

a  little  further,  by  referring  to  one  of  the 
phenomena  of  living  nerve  tissue.  The  retina 
of  the  eye  stores  up  ether  vibrations,  and  their 
persistence  in  the  retinal  nerve  elements  forms 
what  is  known  in  physiology  as  "  after  images." 
For  instance,  if  one  looks  very  intently  at  a 
bright  light  for  a  second  or  two  and  then  closes 
the  eyes,  one  will  still  see  the  image  of  that 
light  for  a  brief  period  of  time.  The  impres- 
sion of  light  has  outlasted  the  objective  stim- 
ulus which  caused  it.  Probably  phenomena  of 
a  like  nature  take  place  in  the  brain,  but  of  this 
we  cannot  be  certain.  No  one  has  yet  shown 
absolutely  how  physical  changes  in  the  nerve 
cells  can  cause  mental  phenomena,  or  vice  versa, 
how  mental  phenomena  can  cause  physical 
changes  excepting  perhaps  in  the  domain  of 
the  physiological  accompaniments  of  the  emo- 

/tions.  Our  knowledge  is  limited  to  the  state- 
ment that  the  brain  is  the  organ  of  conscious- 
ness, but  exactly  how  brain  activity  produces 
consciousness  is  a  riddle  which  probably  will 
never  be  solved. 

/'  Consciousness  is  a  feature  of  all  brain  activity, 
but  whether  it  is  a  result  of  this  activity,  or 
whether  it  runs  parallel  to  it,  opens  up  the 
enormous  field  of  the  interaction  of  mind  on 
body  and  body  on  mind,  and  has  given  rise  to 
many  philosophical  speculations.    If  we  assume 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  T 

that  it  is  probably  the  action  of  the  molecules 
within  the  nerve  cell  which  produces  conscious- 
ness, we  must  also  assume  that  what  comes  to 
me  as  consciousness  would  be  visible  to  an 
outsider  merely  as  molecular  activity.  Even  in 
the  deepest  hypnotic  and  somnambulistic  states, 
consciousness  is  very  active,  but  it  is  probably 
absent  or  reduced  to  a  very  low  level  in  sleep 
and  certainly  completely  absent  in  deep  chloro- 
form or  ether  anesthesia,  although  even  in  the 
latter  state,  as  recent  investigations  have  shown, 
afferent  impulses,  such  as  pain,  may  be  trans- 
mitted by  the  sensory  nerves  from  the  periphery 
to  the  brain.  Strong  says,*  "  The  doctrine 
thus  reached  is  variously  expressed  by  saying 
that  brain  action  *  causes,'  *  generates,'  *  manu- 
factures,' or  '  calls  into  existence '  states  of 
consciousness;  that  consciousness  is  dependent 
on  the  brain."  This  doctrine  of  the  causal  rela- 
tion between  mind  and  brain  activity  is  called 
the  theory  of  automatism.  It  is  directly  op- 
posed to  what  is  known  as  parallelism,  which 
states  that  brain  activity  and  mind  run  side  by 
side — in  other  words,  are  simultaneous  events. 
The  storing  up  of  objective  experiences  is 
principally  through  the  complex  organs  of  sen- 
sation,— the  eye,  the  ear,  and  the  skin.  These 
experiences  are  stored  up  in  the  nerve  cells  of 

» C.  A.  strong:  "  Why  the  Mind  Has  a  Body." 


8   EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

the  brain,  their  traces  forming  what  are  known 
as  physiological  dispositions  or  complexes.  The 
revival  of  these  stored-up  experiences  is  called 
memory;  but  only  those  experiences  are  capable 
of  revival  which  have  produced  sufficient  traces. 
Memory  may  preserve  not  only  what  is  worth 
having,  but  also  what  is  not  worth  having,  for 
instance,  in  the  various  psycho-neurotic  dis- 
turbances. Usually  these  experiences  are 
stored  up  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  re- 
ceived, and  the  revival  of  one  portion  of  the 
experience  tends  to  revive  the  others  which  are 
connected  with  it.  This  forms  the  physiological 
basis  of  association.  Of  conscious  experiences 
or  rather  of  experiences  which  remain  in  con- 
sciousness we  are  usually  aware,  and  we  can 
revive  and  suppress  them  at  will.  In  other 
words,  they  lack  automatism  and  independent 
activity.  When  an  experience  is  stored  up, 
but  cannot  be  voluntarily  reproduced,  we  speak 
of  it  as  dissociated  or  subconscious.  A  syn- 
thesis cannot  be  formed  except  through  special 
devices.  A  mental  dissociation  is,  therefore, 
directly  opposite  to  a  mental  synthesis.  By  the 
former,  we  mean  that  experiences  are  detached 
or  split  off — by  the  latter,  that  these  split  oflp 
experiences  are  made  whole  again. 

In  normal  mental  life,  except  imder  special 
and  very  transitory  conditions,   stored-up  ex- 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  0 

periences  do  not  tend  to  become  split  off  from 
consciousness.  When  an  experience  or  complex^ 
has  become  dissociated,  it  tends  to  act  automati- 
cally, and  cannot  be  controlled  by  the  will. 
This  is  well  seen  in  those  abnormal  mental 
states  which  are  termed  obsessions  and  in  some 
forms  of  automatic  writing.  In  certain  hys- 
terical states,  in  functional  losses  of  memory, 
or  in  multiple  personality,  the  subject  is  not 
aware  of  the  dissociated  experiences.  The  chief 
factors  in  dissociation,  whether  simple  or  com- 
plex, seem  to  be  automatism,  independent  activ- 
ity, lack  of  awareness,  and  the  inability  to  re- 
.produce  conserved  experiences.  By  what  is 
known  as  "  tapping "  the  subconscious,  as  in 
hypnosis  and  in  states  of  abstraction,  in  crystal 
gazing  or  automatic  writing  or  through  various 
^other  devices,  we  can  bring  these  dissociated 
activities  into  full  consciousness,  or  in  psycho- 
logical terms,  produce  a  synthesis. 

2.  The  Modem  Theories  of  the  Subconscious 

We  are  now  prepared,  after  this  brief  intro- 
duction, to  discuss  the  principal  dominant  the- 
ories of  the  subconscious.  The  recognition  of 
the  subconscious  (or  unconscious)  mental  life, 
constitutes  the  basis  of  modern  psychopathology 
and  psycho-analysis.     However,  for  some  psy- 


:>*• " 


10  EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

chologists,  particularly  those  who  have  not  had 
experience  in  investigating  abnormal  mental 
phenomena,  everything  psychic  is  a  priori  con- 
scious and  hence  for  them  an  unconscious  men- 
tal process  is  an  absurdity  and  a  contradiction 
of  terms.  Consciousness,  however,  is  not  the 
indispensable  characteristic  of  mental  life,  for 
psycho-analysis  has  shown,  particularly  in  the 
analysis  of  dreams  and  the  study  of  hysterical 
patients,  that  subconscious  mental  process,  even 
of  a  most  complex  nature  and  of  which  the  in- 
dividual is  not  aware,  may  lead  an  active  exist- 
ence and  so  influence  thought  and  behavior. 
All  psychopathologists,  however,  agree  on  one 
fundamental  principle,  however  conflicting  their 
interpretation  of  the  various  phenomena  may 
be,  namely,  that  our  minds  are  made  up  of 
certain  states,  for  some  of  which  we  are  con- 
scious and  for  some  not  conscious  or  unaware. 
Whether  in  normal  minds  these  extra  or  sub- 
conscious states  are  merely  isolated  phenomena, 
such  as  ideas  or  feelings,  without  being  grouped 
into  systems,  or  whether  they  are  composed  of 
more  complex  states  capable  of  independent 
activity,  is  the  crux  of  the  whole  question.  By 
some  this  splitting  of  consciousness  is  always 
considered  an  indication  or  sign  of  disease,  but 
it  can  be  shown  that  normal  everyday  activities 
exist  in  which  there  is  a  transitory  dissociation, 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  11] 

although  this  may  consist  of  merely  isolated  ideas 
without  organization.  Of  course,  it  is  in  the 
realm  of  mental  pathology  that  we  find  the  best 
known  examples  of  subconscious  phenomena. 

The  theories  of  the  subconscious  are  several 
and  can  be  divided  into  various  groups/  The 
first  theory  states  that  the  subconscious  is  that 
portion  of  the  field  of  consciousness  which  at  a 
given  moment  is  outside  the  focus  of  attention. 
It  is  a  marginal  state  in  which  the  sense  of 
awareness  is  more  or  less  prominent.  If  we  are 
aware  of  a  certain  matter  it  is  conscious;  if  we 
are  only  partially  aware  of  it,  it  is  suppressed 
or  dormant;  if  we  are  not  aware  of  it,  then  it 
is  subconscious,  or  dissociated. 

The  second  theory  is  that  subconscious  activ- 
ities consist  of  dissociated  or  spht-off  ideas. 
These  are  split  off  from  the  main  stream  of 
consciousness  and  may  become  isolated,  like 
the  losses  of  sensation  in  hysterical  anesthesia, 
or  changes  in  the  personality,  as  in  amnesic 
states  and  multiple  personality. 

The  third  theory  is  Frederick  Myers'  poetical 
though  most  unpractical  theory  of  the  sub- 
liminal self.*  Myers'  doctrine  is  purely  meta- 
physical and  states  that  consciousness  or  what 

1  For  a  more  detailed  statement  of  these  theories  the  reader  is 
referred  to  Dr.  Prince's  article  in  the  symposium  on  "  The  Sub- 
conscious."— Journal  Abtwrmal  Psychology,  Vol.  II,  Nos.  1-2,  1907. 

* "  Human   Personality  and   Its  Survival  of   Bodily   Death." 


12   EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

he  calls  the  superliminal  self,  is  only  a  small 
portion  of  that  underlying  great  reservoir  of 
consciousness  which  he  terms  the  subliminal 
self,  this  latter  making  up  the  greater  portion 
of  our  personahty.  We  are  only  conscious  of  a 
small  portion  of  our  consciousness;  the  greatest 
part  of  it  is  submerged  in  the  same  way  that 
the  greatest  portion  of  an  iceberg  is  submerged 
and  only  a  fragment  shows  above  the  surface 
of  the  water.  He  bases  his  ideas  upon  the 
psychological  theory  of  thresholds  of  a  mental 
level,  above  which  sensation  must  rise  before  it 
can  be  manifest.  Below  this  threshold  of  sen- 
sation hes  what  he  calls  the  subHminal  self. 
Or  to  draw  an  analogy  from  physics,  conscious- 
ness is  only  the  visible  portion  of  the  spectrum — 
the  invisible,  ultra  portions  are  our  subconscious 
selves. 

The  fourth  theory  states  that  the  subconscious 
consists  of  dissociated  experiences,  things  for- 
gotten and  that  cannot  be  recalled,  in  other 
words,  out  of  mind.  To  use  a  physical  term, 
this  is  consciousness  at  rest,  or  consciousness 
which  is  not  active.  These  inactive  states  of 
consciousness,  while  they  may  be  recalled  as 
memories  either  spontaneously  or  through  cer- 
tain technical  devices,  for  the  moment  are  out 
of  mind,  because  our  thoughts  are  occupied  with 
something  else. 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  18 

The  fifth  theory  is  the  physiological  idea  of 
the  subconscious,  the  theory  known  as  uncon- 
scious brain-thinking  or  unconscious  cerebration, 
which  states  that  all  subconscious  manifesta- 
tions, such  as  hysteria,  automatic  writing,  the 
subconscious  solution  of  mathematical  prob- 
lems, are  merely  pure  nerve  processes  unaccom- 
panied by  any  thought  whatsoever.  According 
to  Miinsterberg,  the  subconscious  is  not  psychi- 
cal at  all;  he  would  interpret  it  merely  as  a 
physiological  process. 

A  more  practical  theory,  and  one  better  sup- 
ported by  the  evidence,  is  that  active  thinking 
processes  may  exist  although  we  may  not  be 
aware  of  them.  These  subconscious  mental 
states  of  which  we  are  unaware  may  have  in- 
tense emotions,  may  fabricate,  or  may  even  work 
out  complex  intellectual  problems. 

Thus  the  phenomena  called  automatic  writ- 
ing, which  will  be  described  at  length  in  a  sub- 
sequent chapter  is,  briefly  stated,  obtained  by 
placing  a  suitable  subject  in  a  state  of  abstrac- 
tion, putting  a  pencil  in  his  hand,  whereupon 
without  any  act  of  willing  or  conscious  control, 
words,  sentences,  and  even  mathematical  se- 
quences are  written. 

One  automatic  writer.  Mile.  Helene  Smith, 
reported  by  Floumoy,^  described  thus  in  detail, 

*Th.  Flournoy:  "From  India  to  the  Planet  Mars." 


14      EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

the  conditions  on  the  planet  Mars.  For  some 
time  these  descriptions  were  held  to  signify- 
that  the  subconscious  subject  was  capable  of 
supernatural  communications,  but  careful  an- 
alysis established  two  facts,  both  of  which  this 
chapter  is  concerned  with  emphasizing,  first, 
that  subconscious  processes  were  not  mechanical 
reproductions,  but  might  be  very  comphcated 
new  combinations  of  ideas;  and,  second ,  that 
Mile.  Smith,  in  her  automatic  writings,  told 
nothing  that  might  not  have  been  gathered  from 
her  previous  reading  and  experiences,  in  other 
words,  it  is  unnecessary  to  call  upon  spiritual 
realms  for  an  explanation.  Concerning  this 
latter,  Flournoy  states,  that  several  years  before 
the  automatic  writing  developed  to  such  a  de- 
gree in  his  subject  that  she  claimed  to  be  able 
to  communicate  with  the  planet  Mars,  she  had 
more  than  once  directed  her  conversation  to 
the  habitability  of  this  planet  and  to  the  dis- 
covery of  the  famous  canals. 

In  addition  as  the  result  of  certain  experi- 
ments with  hypnosis,  and  the  galvanic  reactions 
in  cases  of  multiple  personality,  it  has  been 
shown  that  under  these  circumstances  complex 
calculations  and  translations  could  be  done,  and 
it  would  be  inconceivable  to  think  that  these 
were  pure  physiological  processes  without 
thought. 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  Iff 

At  the  sixth  International  Congress  of 
Psychology,  held  at  Geneva  during  August, 
1909,  a  discussion  of  the  subconscious  formed 
one  *of  the  important  subjects.  This  discus- 
sion was  led  by  Max  Dessoir,  Pierre  Janet,  and 
Morton  Prince.  Max  Dessoir  drew  a  close 
analogy  between  the  field  of  consciousness  and 
the  field  of  vision.  From  the  psychological 
standpoint,  in  the  visual  field  we  have  the  centre 
of  the  field  which  corresponds,  according  to 
Dessoir,  to  the  focus  of  consciousness,  and  the 
periphery  or  edge,  of  the  field,  which  corre- 
sponds to  the  subconscious.  In  the  periphery 
or  edge,  the  contents  of  consciousness  are  either 
very  dimly  perceived  or  not  at  all,  and  these 
peripheral  contents  can  become  dissociated, 
split  off,  from  the  main  or  focal  consciousness 
and  lead  an  independent  existence.  Morton 
Prince  suggested  that  the  term  subconscious 
be  discarded  and  the  word  co-conscious  be  sub- 
stituted in  its  place.  The  expression  "  co- 
conscious,"  relates  to  dissociated  mental  proc- 
esses of  which  the  subject  is  not  aware,  such 
processes  (in  passing  from  the  simple  to  the 
complex)  as  automatic  writing,  hypnosis,  and 
hysterical  states.  These  processes  are  not 
mere  blind  automatisms,  but  possess  intelligent 
psychological  qualities,  such  as  reasoning,  cal- 
culation, memory,  and  volition.     Furthermore, 


16    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

in  cases  of  multiple  personality,  these  disin- 
tegrated mental  processes  may  lead  an  inde- 
pendent existence,  in  every  way  analogous  to  a 
normal  mind.  He  would  limit  the  term  "  un- 
conscious "  to  certain  physiological  brain  dis- 
positions, such  as  conserved  memories,  which 
do  not  become  psychic  processes  until  stimu- 
lated/ Janet  in  this  discussion  limited  the 
term  subconscious  to  certain  phenomena  ob- 
served only  in  hysterical  conditions,  or  in  other 
abnormal  mental  states  resulting  from  a  weak- 
ened power  of  mental  synthesis. 

We  will  now  pass  to  a  brief  statement  of 
Freud's  theories  of  the  unconscious,  a  theory 
which  is  both  unique  and  far-reaching  in  its 
possibilities.  Freud's  idea  of  the  unconscious 
has  aroused  considerable  discussion,  not  only 
for  its  rather  revolutionary  conception  but  be- 
cause of  the  influence  of  his  theory  upon  the 
psycho-neuroses,  literature,  wit,  folk-lore,  in  fact 

*  Dr.  Prince  has  also  suggested  the  following  classification. 
He  would  use  the  term  "  subconscious "  in  a  generic  sense,  as 
implying  all  detached  states  of  consciousness.  This  term  he 
further  subdivides  into  "co-conscious,"  meaning  an  active  think- 
ing process,  and  "  unconscious,"  which  is  equivalent  to  uncon- 
scious brain  thinking,  a  process  which  is  unaccompanied  by  con- 
sciousness of  any  sort.    The  following  scheme  will  make  this  clear: 

Subconscious 

! 

Co-Conscious  Unconscious 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  17 

the  whole  field  of  human  mental  activity/  The 
practical  application  of  the  theory  has  made 
possible  all  recent  psycho-analytic  conceptions 
and  interpretations. 

According  to  Freud,  a  psychic  element  may 
not  only  be  unconscious  but  likewise  exceedingly 
active  and  dynamic.  For  instance,  in  the  hys- 
terical patient,  an  hysterical  convulsion  may  be 
incomprehensible  to  both  subject  and  observer, 
yet  this  convulsive  attack  may  be  representative 
of  and  produced  by  a  dramatic  incident  in  the 
subject's  life,  but  which  lies  unconsciously  active 
in  the  memory,  in  other  words,  the  patient  is 
unaware  of  the  cause  of  the  convulsion.  An 
imconscious  idea,  therefore,  may  be  weak  and 
fail  to  penetrate  consciousness  or  it  may  be 
strong  and  over  active  (overdetermined).  The 
unconscious  is  not  always  pathological,  because 
it  may  produce  certain  phenomena  in  every- 
day life,  such  as  slips  of  the  tongue,  errors  of 
speech  or  memory,  and,  above  all,  in  dreams 
of  normal  individuals,  which  latter,  as  demon- 
strated by  psycho-analysis,  may  arise  from  the 
most  complex  unconscious  ideas.  The  mental 
mechanisms  entering  into  dream  formation,  as 

•  Freud's  theory  of  the  unconscious  can  be  found  scattered 
through  his  various  publications  on  dreams,  hysteria,  wit,  the 
psychopathologjr  of  everyday  life,  the  sexual  theory,  and  in  his 
more  recent  contributions  in  which  he  analyzes  the  mind  and 
superstitions  of  the  savage  and  primitive  man. 


18    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

will  be  shown  in  a  subsequent  chapter,  have 
furnished  us  with  the  best  data  for  an  insight 
into  the  nature  of  the  unconscious. 

The  term  "  unconscious  "  as  used  by  Freud, 
is  not  synonymous  with  *'  unconscious "  in 
everyday  speech.  The  latter  connotes  lack  of 
consciousness  or  an  unintentional  or  involuntary 
action.  According  to  Freud,  the  unconscious 
means  something  in  consciousness  of  which  one 
is  not  aware,  but  which  can  be  made  known  and 
brought  into  consciousness  through  the  technique 

.^f  psycho-analysis.  Unconscious  thoughts  are 
therefore,  existent  and  active  in  the  normal  in- 
dividual as  well  as  in  the  neurotic.  Unconscious 
thoughts  or  ideas  frequently  remain  so,  because 
a  force  termed  resistance  prevents  them  from 
becoming  conscious.  On  the  activity  of  this 
resistance  with  the  consequent  repression  of 
unconscious   thoughts,   is   based   the    Freudian 

v^conception  of  hysteria.  The  act  of  repression 
usually  meets  with  ill  success,  because  the  re- 
pressed impulses  (wishes)  and  complexes  con- 
tinue to  exist  in  the  unconscious  and  thus  send 
disguised  substitutes  into  consciousness  in  the 
form  of  psycho-neurotic  symptoms.  Thus  when 
unconscious  thoughts  break  through  into  waking 
consciousness,  we  have  disease,  because  the  un- 
conscious wish  thus  comes  into  conflict  with 
reality:     when     unconscious     thoughts     break 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  19 

through  a  partially  sleeping  consciousness, 
dreams  are  produced.  The  repression  is,  there- 
fore, the  process  which  forces  these  unconscious 
thoughts  out  of  consciousness  and  leads  to  a 
mental  dissociation.  Thus  a  mental  dissociation 
is  the  result  of  this  mental  conflict  and  not  ac- 
cording to  one  conception,  as  due  to  a  weakened 
mental  synthesis. 

Unconscious  thoughts  may  not  only  be  of\ 
recent  date  (adult),  but  may  also  reach  into  the 
deepest  strata  of  the  unconscious  to  the  earliest 
years  of  childhood  (the  infantile  unconscious), 
which  latter  is  usually  a  repressed  sexual  or 
erotic  instinct  associated  with  a  wish  to  forgety^ 
The  word  "  sexual "  is  used  by  Freud  in  its  ' 
broadest  sense,  like  the  word  "  love  "  in  English.  ' 
If  an  unconscious  thought  of  which  the  subject 
is  unaware  can  be  brought  to  memory  with 
slight  effort,  even  momentarily,  it  is  termed 
**  fore-conscious."  The  unconscious  is  rich  in 
expression,  as  in  the  neurotic;  in  symbolisms,  as 
in  dreams;  in  oddities,  as  in  wit;  and  in  sympto- 
matic actions,  best  seen  in  the  absent-minded 
behavior  of  everyday  life.  It  has  also  been 
shown  through  psycho-analysis,  that  uncon- 
scious individual  phantasies  which  produce 
dreams,  may,  if  they  are  active  in  the  childhood 
of  the  race,  give  rise  to  myths  and  legends. 
Thus  there  is  a  psychological  analogy  between 


20    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

dreams  and  folklore;  both  use  the  same  material 
for  their  fantasies/  In  artistic  literary  crea- 
tions likewise,  the  miconscious  w^sh  may  often 
be  disclosed  by  psycho-analysis.^ 

The  unconscious  exerts  a  persistent  and 
dynamic  influence  on  everyday  life,  so  much 
so,  that  no  element  of  thought  or  behavior  is 
accidental,  arbitrary  or  due  to  chance,  but  every 
conscious  mental  occurrence  bears  a  direct, 
\causal  relation  to  its  unconscious  source.  On 
this  deterministic  view-point  is  based  all  psycho- 
analytic investigation  and  the  psycho-analytic 
therapy  of  the  functional  neuroses.  For  in- 
stance, if  a  subject  is  requested  to  make  free 
associations  to  a  given  word  or  theme,  the  asso- 
ciations are  really  not  free,  but  are  conditioned 
by  the  unconscious  or  fore-conscious  complexes. 
In  dreams  too,  an  identical  mechanism  can  be 

»  K.  Abraham,  "  Dreams  and  Myths,"  1913. 

» For  interesting  examples  of  the  application  of  the  psycho- 
analytic method  to  the  study  of  literary  creations,  see  a  paper 
by  Ernest  Jones:  "The  CEdipus-Complex  as  an  Explanation  of 
Hamlet's  Mystery." — American  Journal  of  Psychology,  January, 
1910,— also  my  book,  "The  Hysteria  of  Lady  Macbeth,"  New 
York,  1912.  Thus  psycho-analysis  has  shown  that  Hamlet's  inhibi- 
tion lay  in  a  repressed  love  for  his  mother  which  was  more  power- 
ful than  his  hostilities  and  that  Lady  Macbeth's  hysteria  and 
somnambulism  arose  from  a  repressed  wish  for  a  child.  The 
action  of  both  characters  is  thus  explained  on  psycho-sexual 
mechanisms. — See  also  A.  R.  Chandler's  interesting  paper,  "  Tragic 
Effect  in  Sophocles  Analyzed  according  to  the  Freudian  method." 
The  Monitt,  January,  1913. 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  81 

found,  the  symbolism  or  the  distortion  of  the 
dream  bears  a  direct  relationship  to  the  latent 
(or  unconscious)  thoughts  producing  the  dream. 
As  stated  by  Freud/  "  The  unconscious  must 
be  accepted  as  the  general  basis  of  the  psychic 
life.  The  unconscious  is  the  larger  circle  which 
includes  within  itself  the  smaller  circle  of  the 
conscious;  everything  conscious  has  its  prelimi- 
nary step  in  the  unconscious,  whereas  the  un- 
conscious may  stop  with  this  step  and  still  claim 
full  value  as  a  psychic  activity.  Properly 
speaking  the  unconscious  is  the  real  psychic;  its 
inner  nature  is  just  as  unknown  to  us  as  the 
reality  of  the  external  world  and  it  is  just  as 
imperfectly  reported  to  us  through  the  data  of 
consciousness  as  is  the  external  world  through 
the  indications  of  our  sensory  organs." 

Because  of  this  persistent  action  of  the  un- 
conscious, we  are  all  victims  of  our  uncon- 
scious thoughts  or  complexes.  Thus  our  moral 
or  religious  or  political  views  of  life  are  tinged 
by  our  latent,  unconscious  ideas,  and  yet,  by  a 
process  of  self-deception,  we  conceal  the  origin 
of  our  views  and  motives.  This  concealment, 
called  rationalization,  is  responsible  for  the  fre- 
quently erroneous  idea  that  logic  plays  a  part 
in  our  thoughts  and  motives. 

» •*  The  Interpretation  of  Dreams "  (translated  by  A.  A.  Brill) 
—New  York,  1913. 


22  EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

S.  The  Subconscious  Mechanism  in  Everyday  Life 

In  everyday  life  a  number  of  these  dissocia- 
tions may  take  place;  for  instance  the  forget- 
ting of  a  name,  absent-mindedness,  slips  of  the 
tongue  and  pen,  purposeless  actions,  the  feeling 
of  having  experienced  an  entirely  new  sensation 
before  or  having  previously  been  in  a  place 
which  we  are  visiting  for  the  first  time  (param- 
nesia or  illusions  of  memory).  The  forgetting 
of  a  name  is  a  very  prominent  instance  of  a 
normal  dissociation  of  consciousness.  How 
many  times  has  it  occurred  that  when  one  tries 
to  recall  the  name  of  a  person  or  a  place  it 
lingers  in  a  most  aggravating  manner  on  the 
tip  of  the  tongue  but  later,  perhaps  hours 
later,  probably  while  engaged  in  something  else, 
when  we  have  put  the  thing  out  of  our  mind, 
the  name  will  suddenly  flash  into  consciousness. 
Here  is  an  example  of  a  normal  amnesia,  and 
the  principle  of  the  sudden  return  of  the  for- 
gotten name  while  in  a  later  state  of  abstraction, 
I  when  the  effort  to  remember  the  name  has 
been  put  out  of  mind,  is  of  great  value  in  ab- 
normal psychology,  particularly  in  the  psycho- 
logical device  of  the  synthesis  of  certain  amnesic 
states,  as  will  be  pointed  out  later  in  the 
chapter  on  memory.  This  temporary  dissocia- 
tion leading  to  the  forgetting  of  a  name  may 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  23 

be  caused  by  repression.  The  name  is  forgot- 
ten because  it  is  associated  with  a  painful  or 
disagreeable  experience  which  has  been  re- 
pressed in  the  unconscious  and  the  forgetting  is 
a  purposeful  act,  whose  function  is  to  protect 
the  mind  from  the  recalling  of  the  experience. 
Thus  an  unconscious  but  purposeful  motive  can 
be  detected  on  analysis,  namely,  that  the  for- 
getting is  determined  by  a  painful  mental  proc- 
ess. An  individual,  for  instance,  attempted  in 
vain  to  recall  the  name  of  the  Swiss  neurologist 
Veraguth,  and  only  some  hours  later,  the  name 
suddenly  flashed  into  his  mind.  In  order  to 
attempt  to  find  out  the  reason  for  the  forgetting 
of  a  name  that  was  very  familiar  to  the  indi- 
vidual, free  association  procedures  gave  the  fol- 
lowing:— "Veraguth — Verabad-Bad  (the  Ger- 
man for  bath) — Bath — water — mineral  water." 
Thus  with  the  free  association  method  the  dis- 
turbing complex  became  clear — in  other  words 
— while  in  Switzerland  the  previous  summer  the 
subject  was  suddenly  taken  ill  with  a  disorder 
which  required  the  use  of  a  certain  mineral 
water  and  thus  was  unable  to  travel  as  had 
been  planned.  The  association  of  the  disagree- 
able experience  in  Switzerland  was  the  inhibit- 
ing force  which  prevented  the  recall  of  the  name. 
Sometimes  also,  following  severe  intellectual 
work,    a    temporary    forgetfulness    for    recent 


24    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

\  things  may  take  place.  When  subjects  are  in 
a  state  of  abstraction  or  absent-mindedness,  a 
question  may  be  asked  to  which  they  apparently 
pay  no  attention.  Ten  or  fifteen  minutes  later 
they  will  suddenly  look  up  and  answer.  The 
question  was  there,  but  at  the  moment  it  was 
asked,  the  person  was  in  this  state  of  abstraction 
and  there  was  an  immediate  dissociation  of  the 
question,  it  became  split  off  from  the  main 
stream  of  consciousness.  When  the  state  of 
abstraction  was  terminated  a  synthesis  took 
place,  the  question  became  conscious  where 
before  it  was  subconscious.  Here  we  have  an 
example  of  the  conservation  of  an  absent- 
minded  experience,  although  the  conserved  ex- 
perience was  dissociated.  As  will  be  shown 
later,  suggestibility  is  increased  in  normal  ab- 
straction or  absent-mindedness,  a  feature  which 
makes  it  closely  related  to  the  artificial  hypnotic 
states.  Although  absent-mindedness  may  be 
looked  upon  as  a  special  condition,  yet  it  is 
nothing  more  or  less  than  a  severe  form  of 
inattention  or  concentrated  attention,  as  shown 
by  the  negative  hallucinations  which  sometimes 
occur  in  this  condition,  namely,  a  failure  to 
perceive  what  is  immediately  in  front  of  the 
eyes.  Normal  forgetfulness  is  thus  in  some 
way  allied  to  the  pathological  amnesias,  being 
both  a  dissociation  and  repression  of  memories; 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  U 

absent-minded  acts  and  apparently  purposeless 
actions  are  simpler  forms  resembling  the  autom- 
atism of  automatic  writing  or  some  hysterical 
symptoms,  but  having  the  same  mental  mech- 
anism. 

What  takes  place  in  normal  absent-minded- 
ness to  show  that  we  have  a  state  of  temporary 
mental  dissociation?  In  absent-mindedness  the 
attention  is  focussed  on  one  thing,  either  in- 
ternal or  external.  This  focussing  of  attention 
narrows  the  field  of  personal  consciousness  and 
the  portion  of  consciousness  which  lies  outside 
this  narrowed  field  is  subconscious  or  dissoci- 
ated. In  this  dissociated  state,  many  acts  may 
be  done  automatically,  such  as  buttoning  of  a 
coat,  tearing  up  papers,  etc.  But  all  these 
automatic  acts  are  preserved  and  can  be  revived 
later  by  appropriate  methods.  All  absent- 
minded  states  are  not  dissociations,  it  is  only 
severe  grades  where  attention  is  intensely  fo- 
cussed on  some  stimulus  from  without  or  some 
idea  from  within,  that  can  be  termed  dissociated. 

"  This  duality  of  the  mind  in  normal  absent-minded- 
ness has  been  pointed  out  by  various  observers.  Its 
phenomena  simulate  those  of  artificial  abstraction  as 
they  occur  in  automatic  writing  and  hysterical  states. 
There  is  nothing  surprising  in  this,  as  the  term 
*  absent-mindedness '  means  dissociation  of  conscious- 
ness,   a   failure    to    perceive   that    which    before    was 


26  EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

perceived  and  a  failure  to  be  conscious  of  acts  intel- 
ligently performed.  On  the  other  hand,  normal 
absent-mindedness  is  a  distinctly  special  condition. 
We  don't  go  about  in  an  absent-minded  state.  Absent- 
minded  phenomena  are  manifestations  of  the  tempo- 
rary disintegration  of  the  personal  self.  But  here  the 
significant  fact,  the  most  significant  of  all,  should  not 
be  lost  sight  of,  that  in  the  normal  process  of  abstrac- 
tion we  find  evidence  of  the  existence  of  a  normal  pre- 
arranged mechanism  for  dissociating  consciousness  and 
producing  subconscious  states."  * 

Dissociation  is  plainly  a  function  of  the  mind 
or  brain  as  was  shown  above.  These  normal 
dissociations  are  not  limited  to  absent-minded- 
ness and  forgetting  of  names,  but  may  comprise 
other  phenomena  of  our  everyday  life,  such  as 
the  solution  of  problems  by  the  secondary  con- 
sciousness during  sleep,  slips  of  the  tongue  and 
pen,  certain  apparently  accidental  and  purpose- 
less actions,  and  those  tricks  of  mind  called 
illusions  of  memory.  In  a  most  interesting  little 
volume  Freud  has  discussed  in  detail  some  of 
the  phenomena  of  the  unconscious,  which  we 
have  briefly  mentioned  here,  under  the  title  of 
the  psychopathology  of  everyday  life.  In  it 
he  shows  that  these  apparently  aimless  acts  and 
phenomena  are  motivated  by  mental  mechanisms 
unknown  to  consciousness,  mechanisms  hidden 

*  Morton  Prince:  **  Problems  of  Abnormal  Psychology.** — 
Psychological  Review,  March-May,  1905. 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  27 

in  the  unconscious  and  which  can  be  revealed 
only  through  psycho-analysis.  Here  again  we 
see  the  fruitful  results  of  the  concept  of  deter- 
minism. Thus  mechanisms  occurring  in  the 
abnormal  are  found  also  in  the  normal. 

Both  this  observer  and  others  have  thus  ex- 
plained the  acts  of  everyday  life,  many  of  which 
seem  purposeless,  accidental,  and  without  rea- 
son unless  carefully  studied.  The  mechanism 
which  produces  disturbances  in  the  thoughts 
and  actions  of  normal  people  is  identical  with 
the  mechanism  which  causes  the  disturbances 
in  the  insane  and  in  abnormal  mental  dissocia- 
tion. Automatic  acts  may  be  caused  by  an  un- 
conscious, suppressed  complex.  Dreams  are 
frequently  the  manifestation  of  hidden  wishes 
or  memories;  the  haunting  of  the  mind  by  a 
popular  melody  resembles  a  pathological  obses- 
sion. It  is  popularly  supposed  that  most  men- 
tal life  is  forgotten  beyond  recovery,  but  it  has 
been  shown  that  a  great  deal  may  be  recovered 
through  proper  devices,  provided  sufficient 
traces   had   been   left   in    the   nervous    system. 

Examples  of  the  forgetting  of  a  name  result- 
ing from  the  linking  of  the  name  with  a  dis- 
agreeable experience,  have  already  been  given. 
A  slip  of  the  tongue  may  arise  as  a  manifesta- 
tion of  a  suppressed  thought  or  from  an  uncon- 
scious wish.     This  mechanism  is  not  only  seen 


£8    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

in  everyday  life,  but  also  in  some  cases  of 
stammering.  The  same  remarks  can  be  applied 
to  slips  of  the  pen, — for  instance,  the  case  of 
writing  the  date  of  the  previous  year  through- 
out January.  This  is  not  always  due  to  habit, 
but  in  a  number  of  cases  it  can  be  traced  to  a 
disinclination  to  admit  to  one's  self  that  the 
new  year  has  brought  them  a  year  nearer  to  old 
age,  in  other  words,  such  slips  of  the  pen 
betray  in  all  of  us,  the  wish  (conscious  or  un- 
conscious) to  remain  young.  In  writing  the 
preface  to  the  second  edition  of  this  book,  such 
a  slip  of  the  pen  occurred  in  writing  "  Novem- 
ber 1914  "  instead  of  "  November  1913,"  thus 
betraying  my  wish  to  bring  the  book  as  near 
up  to  date  as  possible. 

The  phenomena  of  hypnosis  and  a  great 
many  of  the  phenomena  of  hysteria  seem  to  be 
merely  more  intense  and  protracted  states  of 
absent-mindedness  or  abstraction,  which,  we 
have  shown,  is  a  dissociation  of  consciousness. 
So  we  see  that  there  is  nothing  supernormal 
or  supernatural  in  these  subconscious  or  disso- 
ciated manifestations,  startling  as  some  of  these 
phenomena  may  appear.  The  gradations  from 
the  normal  to  the  abnormal  are  slow;  there  is 
no  distinct  line;  there  is  an  overlapping  of 
types,  and  one  cannot  say  where  the  normal 
ends  and  where  the  abnormal  begins. 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  29 

A  few  other  examples  will  show  in  further 
detail  the  presence  of  temporary  subconscious 
phenomena  in  everyday  life.  In  the  first  in- 
stance to  be  given  it  can  be  demonstrated  that 
normal  abstraction  is  a  mental  condition  of  in- 
creased suggestibility  and  thus  resembles  the 
artificially  produced  state  of  hypnosis.  In  the 
second  case  it  can  be  shown  that  normal  forget- 
fulness  is  a  dissociation  of  memory,  allied  to  the 
pathological  amnesias.  In  common  with  these 
amnesias,  it  is  possible  to  restore  or  synthetize 
the  lost  experience  because  the  experience  is 
really  not  lost,  but  is  present  in  the  subcon- 
scious. In  the  third  example,  that  of  a  dream 
analysis  furnished  an  interesting  instance  that 
unconscious  manipulations  of  numbers  appear- 
ing in  a  dream  were  not  accidental,  but  rep- 
resented important  imconscious  mental  conflicts 
of  the  subject. 

In  the  first  case,  three  men  were  members 
of  a  party  of  seven  seated  at  dinner.  Dessert 
was  being  served  and  some  of  the  party  were 
already  supplied.  One  of  the  members  of  the 
dinner  party.  Professor  H.,  was  talking  to  an- 
other member,  3Ir.  G.,  in  a  low  tone,  and  the 
latter  was  listening  very  intently.  The  dessert 
consisted  of  chocolate  pie  and  squash  pie,  and 
as  some  had  already  been  brought  in  Mr.  G. 
had  time  to  decide  which  he  preferred.     Mrs. 


so    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

R.,  who  was  sitting  beside  Mr.  G.,  inquired 
which  he  would  have.  The  latter  was  so  ab- 
stracted in  the  conversation,  that  apparently  he 
did  not  hear,  and  even  on  a  repetition  of  the 
question,  he  gave  no  reply.  Meanwhile  another 
member  of  the  party,  in  a  spirit  of  jest,  spoke 
softly  to  Mrs.  R.,  but  in  such  a  manner  that 
Mr.  G.  could  hear,  and  said,  "  Mr.  G.  always 
takes  chocolate  pie."  Immediately  Mr.  G. 
quickly  replied,  "  Chocolate  pie,  please."  This 
was  done  because  it  was  well  known  to  the 
other  members  of  the  party  that  Mr.  G.  had  a 
profound  distaste  for  chocolate  pie.  Meanwhile 
the  waiter  had  brought  the  dessert  (chocolate 
pie)  to  Mr.  G.,  who  by  that  time  had  finished 
his  conversation  with  Professor  H.  Then,  as  if 
just  coming  to  himself,  Mr.  G.  turned  to  his 
companion  and  said,  "Who  said  chocolate  pie? 
I  wanted  the  other  kind." 

In  the  second  case,  a  woman  had  given  a 
check  for  a  certain  amount.  For  certain  rea- 
sons, some  two  years  later,  it  became  necessary 
for  her  to  recall  the  signature  on  the  check, 
the  exact  date  and  place  and  the  bank  on  which 
the  check  was  drawn.  She  remembered  that  she 
had  read  the  check  carefully  over  at  the  time 
it  was  given  to  her,  but  two  years  later  she 
could  not  recall  by  any  amount  of  conscious 
effort,  the  date  on  the  check.     When  she  was 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  81 

placed  in  a  state  of  abstraction  by  listening  to 
a  monotonous  sound  stimulus,  in  a  few  minutes 
all  the  data  on  the  check  were  recalled.  She 
was  now  able  to  recollect  the  exact  date,  the 
name  of  the  bank,  the  name  of  the  person  to 
whom  the  check  was  payable,  the  number  of  the 
check,  and  finally  the  signature.  By  means  of 
crystal  gazing  it  was  also  possible  to  produce  a 
vivid  visual  hallucination  of  the  check. 

In  the  third  case,  a  young  man  whose  be- 
trothal was  not  approved  by  his  mother  who 
wished  him  to  honorably  terminate  it,  had  the 
two  following  dreams. 

Dream  I.  He  seemed  to  be  in  a  lawyer's 
office.  The  assistant  was  making  notes  and 
writing  figures  on  sheets  of  paper,  which  fig- 
ures when  added  made  the  sum  3990. 

Dream  II.  He  seemed  to  be  standing  near 
a  large  building,  in  front  of  which  was  a  mov- 
ing-van with  the  figures  317  painted  thereon. 

An  analysis  of  the  figures  occurring  in  these 
two  dreams  demonstrated  how  complicated  may 
be  the  various  manipulations  of  figures  taking 
place  in  the  unconscious  and  furnished  an  exact 
demonstration  of  the  subject's  mental  conflict.^ 
This  number  symbolism  was  as  follows: — 

817  =  8  +  1  +  7  =  11 
8990  =  89  +  9  +  0  =  48 


S2    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

48  +  11  =  59  (the  age  of  the  subject's  mother) 

3  -f  9  +  9  +  0  =  21 

3  +  1  +  7  =  11 

21  rh.  11  =  32  (the  age  of  the  subject's  fiancee) 

Thus  the  numbers  occurring  in  the  dreams 
were  not  accidental,  but  revealed  the  struggle 
taking  place  in  the  unconscious.  This  struggle 
was  symbolized  by  the  numbers,  which  rep- 
resented both  the  age  of  the  subject's  mother 
and  that  of  the  subject's  fiancee. 

4.    How  the  Subconscious  Becomes  Diseased 

Passing  from  the  consideration  of  the  sub- 
conjscious  as  a  mere  psychological  mechanism 
to  a  condition  of  specific  disease,  we  also  pass 
from  a  comparatively  simple  set  of  problems 
to  a  complex  and  much  discussed  field.  Here 
we  shall  find  the  theory  that  subconscious  ac- 
tivity is  not  mechanical  but  reasoning  and  is 
dynamically  active  or  what  is  called  the  psycho- 
logical theory,  more  helpful  and  more  easily 
applicable  than  in  the  simple  forms. 

When  the  subconscious  assumes  extraordi- 
nary and  painful  attributes  it  may  be  said  to  be 
diseased,  and  then  exhibits  in  a  marked  manner 
the  independent  or  split-off  existence  which  has 
been  noted  above,  so  much  so  that  the  entire 
range  of  such  diseases  are  often  included  within 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  88 

the  term  dissociation.  In  these  eases,  it  is  not 
only  the  dissociation,  but  also  the  continued  ac- 
tivity of  the  dissociated  or  unconscious  portion 
of  consciousness,  due  to  a  process  of  repression 
which  causes  the  mischief. 

What  is  the  cause  of  this  dissociation  and 
why  does  it  at  one  time  simply  produce  an 
absent-mindedness  and  at  another  time  an  hys- 
teria? It  seems  that  when  absent-mindedness 
becomes  protracted  we  have  hysteria,  and  when 
normal  failure  to  recall  a  name  takes  in  the 
events  of  a  period,  we  have  amnesia.  Dissocia- 
tion remains  normal,  therefore,  so  long  as  it  is 
transitory.  When  the  dissociation  is  prolonged 
and  assumes  a  continued  activity,  due  to  repres- 
sion and  to  the  inability  of  the  repressed  thoughts 
to  enter  consciousness,  then  it  becomes  abnormal. 
It  is  probably  this  fact  above  all  others  which 
determines  whether  a  subconscious  process  be 
normal  or  pathological.  Concerning  the  exact 
cause  of  this  repression  and  dissociation,  we  are 
in  the  dark.  We  know  that  exhaustion,  certain 
emotions,  unconscious  mental  conflicts,  and  cer- 
tain experimental  devices  are  able  to  produce 
a  mental  dissociation,  but  exactly  how  this  dis- 
sociation is  brought  about,  abnormal  psychology 
cannot  at  present  oflFer  a  final  solution. 

Janet  interprets  the  abnormal  phenomena, 
applying   them   more   particularly   to   hysteria 


34  EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

and  hysterical  dissociations,  as  being  merely  a 
chronic  form  of  absent-mindedness,  and  con- 
eludes  that  clear-cut  phenomena,  analogous  to 
the  subconsciousness  of  hysteria,  are  infinitely 
rare  in  a  normal  mind.  His  conception,  that 
a  mental  dissociation,  particularly  as  seen  in 
hysteria,  is  caused  by  an  inborn  weakness  of 
mental  sjoithesis,  is  somewhat  unsatisfactory  as 
shown  by  recent  psycho-analytic  investigations. 
It  explains  only  a  portion  of  the  problem;  it 
makes  no  attempt  to  solve  the  more  funda- 
mental aspects  of  the  unconscious  mechanism, 
particularly  repression,  mental  conflicts,  and  the 
persistence  of  childhood  complexes.  In  general 
he  states,  that  when  these  normal  dissociations 
"  are  really  noted  by  competent  observers,  they 
cannot  but  be  regarded  as  unhealthy  accidents 
of  a  more  or  less  transient  character,  and  of  a 
somewhat  sinister  omen."  Breuer  and  Freud, 
on  the  contrary,  state  that  severe  dissociations 
are  secondary  to  the  development  of  what  they 
term  the  "  hypnoidal  state  "  which  is  a  condi- 
tion of  abstraction  in  the  normal  sense.  Accord- 
ing to  this  view,  the  pathological  process  is  a 
djmamic  one.  In  the  conscious  mental  life, 
an  active  conflict  is  persistently  taking  place, 
in  order  to  force  certain  ideas  into  the  uncon- 
scious. The  mechanism  is  therefore  based  upon 
a  process  of  repression  and  when  this  repression 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  85 

fails,  certain  pathological  symptoms  tend  to 
arise.  This  conflict  and  repression  is  mainly 
concerned  with  the  sexual  instincts  of  early 
childhood  (pertinently  termed  the  pre-historic 
period  of  our  lives),  and  may  cause  either 
hysteria  or  an  obsessional  neurosis.  When  an 
unhealthy  mental  accident  takes  place  in  this 
hypnoidal  state,  there  arises  an  inability  to 
form  a  synthesis  with  the  normal  consciousness. 
Hence  the  abnormal  state  tends  to  be  indefi- 
nitely prolonged,  producing  a  pathological  men- 
tal condition,  sometimes  hysteria,  at  other  times 
recurrent  automatic  ideas  called  obsessions. 
*'  Abnormal  psychology,  then,  points  strongly 
to  the  conclusion  that  there  is  a  normal  physio- 
logical dissociating  mechanism  which  is  the 
function  of  the  nervous  organization.  It  is  this 
mechanism  which  brings  about  such  spontaneous 
normal  states  as  absent-mindedness,  sleep,  nor- 
mal induced  states  like  hypnosis;  and  through 
its  perversions  the  dissociations  underlying  ab- 
normal phenomena."  ' 

A  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  subject,  that  the 
personality    has    disappeared    or    has    changed 
from  the  normal  to  the  abnormal,  is  often  an 
evidence    of    mental    dissociation.      This    Dr.; 
Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde  existence  may  occur  in 

'Morton  Prince:  "Problems  of  Abnormal   Psychology." — The 
Pttfchological  Review,  1905. 


S6    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

many  functional  conditions,  such  as  neurasthe- 
nia, psychasthenia,  and  in  certain  cases  of  de- 
lirium or  mental  depression.  In  hysteria  or 
multiple  personality,  the  new  personality  may 
lead  an  independent  existence. 

Probably  the  most  marked  forms  of  func- 
tional neuroses  are  caused  by  the  action  of 
abnormal  ideas  or  emotions.  These  ideas  and 
emotions  are  usually  present  in  groups  (com- 
plexes) and  are  linked  together  as  abnormal  as- 
sociations. All  complexes  are  not  abnormal, 
however,  for  the  formation  of  normal  complexes 
forms  the  basis  of  all  our  educational  processes. 
Habits  and  highly  skilled  movements  are  com- 
plexes which  are  the  result  of  frequent  repeti- 
tion. They  are  really  unconscious  memories, 
having  an  automatic  action. 

Now  these  stored-up  complexes,  whether  con- 
scious or  dissociated,  may  influence  the  entire 
psycho-physical  life.  They  may  appear  in 
dreams  but  in  a  fantastic  and  distorted  man- 
ner; they  may  produce  hysterical  phenomena,  or 
the  dormant  complex,  if  stimulated,  may  cause 
recurrent  attacks  of  fear  or  obsessions,  or  it 
may  produce  certain  inhibitions  of  thought  as  in 
the  association  tests.  Sometimes,  too,  the  com- 
plex or  even  an  isolated  idea  related  to  the 
complex,  may  produce  changes  in  the  electrical 
resistance  of  the  body  or  certain  physiological 


THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  «7i 

effects,  such  as  an  acceleration  of  the  pulse 
rate.  The  stored-up  emotional  complex  is  dis- 
tinctly the  most  important  factor  in  abnormal 
psychology.  Complexes  may  be  formed  in 
various  ways,  in  everyday  life,  in  dreams,  or 
in  states  of  abstraction. 

All  stored-up  complexes  may  either  produce 
themselves  spontaneously  or  can  be  artificially 
reproduced  by  means  of  special  methods.  This 
artificial  reproduction  of  the  unconscious  com- 
plex is  at  the  basis  of  all  psycho-analysis.  So 
we  see  that  this  reproduction  may  have  a  bene- 
ficial effect  because  once  the  complex  is  dis- 
covered it  can  usually  be  rendered  harmless.  If 
complexes  were  always  present  in  memory  it 
would  be  unnecessary  to  dig  for  them  through 
psychological  methods.  But  they  are  not  al- 
ways present  in  memory;  in  fact,  a  complex 
may  be  unconscious  and  lead  to  a  mental  dis- 
sociation. Dissociated  complexes  are  removed 
from  the  censorship  of  the  conscious  mind  and, 
therefore,  act  in  an  abnormal  manner.  Under 
conditions  which  are  not  at  present  clearly 
understood,  this  complex  may  suddenly  begin 
to  act.  So  we  see  that  this  dissociated  state 
may  tend  to  become  automatic,  and  it  is  this 
automatism  which  gives  rise  to  many  pathologi- 
cal states  of  consciousness. 

All  psychotherapy  is  based  upon  one  or  more 


38    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

of  these  fundamental  principles.  If  there  is  a 
state  of  dissociation  the  obvious  remedy  is  syn- 
thesis, as  can  be  shown  in  many  hysterical  mani- 
festations. If  certain  experiences  are  stored  up, 
but  cannot  be  spontaneously  reproduced,  then 
we  must  have  recourse  to  some  form  of  artifi- 
cial reproduction.  In  this  way  we  can  fill  up 
the  blanks  in  the  mind  which  are  caused  by  cer- 
tain types  of  functional  amnesia.  If  a  com- 
plex had  an  automatic  or  independent  activity, 
then  an  effort  should  be  made  to  bring  about  a 
control  and  finally  an  inhibition  of  this  auto- 
matic state. 

From  the  evidence  that  can  be  gathered,  from 
both  normal  and  abnormal  mental  life,  it  seems 
that  before  a  mental  state  can  be  termed  disso- 
ciated or  subconscious,  it  must  possess  several 
qualities.  First  this  mental  state  must  have 
an  automatic  activity.  Second,  it  must  act  in- 
dependently from  the  rest  of  consciousness. 
Third,  there  must  be  an  absence  of  awareness 
for  this  mental  state.  Fourth,  there  must  be  an 
impossibility  of  voluntarily  reproducing  the 
mental  state  in  consciousness.  Fifth,  it  ought 
to  be  possible  to  reproduce  the  detached  men- 
tal state  by  an  artificial  method.  A  dissociation 
may  be  normal,  as  in  absent-mindedness;  it 
may  be  artificially  produced,  as  in  hypnosis;  or 
it  may  be  abnormal,  as  in  hysteria. 


CHAPTER  II 

AUTOMATIC   WBITING  AND   CRYSTAL   GAZING 

Automatic  writing  can  be  best  understood 
by  giving  a  brief  account  of  a  series  of  elab- 
orate experiments  carried  out  by  Mrs.  Verrall.' 
The  phenomena  of  automatic  writing  were 
Mrs.  Verrall's  personal  products.  She  carried 
out  a  long  series  of  experiments,  some  322  in 
number,  upon  herself,  and  obtained  as  many 
**  consciously  "  written  pieces  of  script.  That 
she  was  already  accustomed  to  having  her  sub- 
conscious mental  life  "  tapped,"  so  to  speak, 
is  expressly  stated.  In  1889-1892  she  had 
recorded  and  later  published  a  series  of  obser- 
vations on  herself  in  crystal  gazing.  She  al- 
lowed this  faculty  to  remain  dormant,  however, 
until  after  repeated  attempts,  she  found  her- 
self able  to  produce  automatic  writing  in  1901. 
The  method  employed  to  develop  the  faculty 
is  instructive.  She  says,  **  On  January  17,  1901, 
I  spent  a  quarter  of  an  hour  or  more  in  sitting 
perfectly  still  in  a  dim  light  with  a  pencil  in  my 

*  Mrs.  A.  W.  Verrall:  "On  a  Series  of  Automatic  Writings."— 
Proc.  Soc.  for  Psychical  Research,  Vol.  XX,  October,  1906. 

39 


40    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

hand,  with  a  view  to  giving  myself  the  oppor- 
tunity of  recognizing  any  impression  that  I 
might  have.  I  continued  this  daily.  Unless  my 
attention  was  actively  engaged  in  some  other 
direction,  the  pencil  did  not  move;  if  I  tried 
to  occupy  my  attention  with  reading,  the  pencil 
merely  produced  some  of  the  words  of  the  book 
or  occasionally  traced  characters  resembling 
those  on  a  brass  table  on  which  the  pencil  and 
paper  lay."  These  attempts  were  continued 
daily  for  about  two  weeks  and  only  three  at- 
tempts were  made  during  the  following  month. 
Then,  on  resuming  the  experiments,  the  first  suc- 
cessful result  was  obtained.  A  strong  impulse  to 
change  the  position  of  the  pencil  was  felt,  and, 
"  in  obedience  to  the  impulse  I  took  the  pencil 
between  my  thumb  and  first  finger  and  after  a 
few  nonsense  words,  it  wrote  rapidly  in  Latin. 
On  the  first  occasion,  March  5,  1901,  my  hand 
wrote  about  eighty  words  almost  entirely  in 
Latin,  but  though  the  words  are  consecutive 
and  seem  to  make  phrases,  and  though  phrases 
seem  intelligible,  there  is  no  general  sense  in 
the  passage." 

These  early  attempts  resulted  in  mere  rub- 
bish, but  by  continued  "  practice,"  the  writing 
became  the  logical  expression  of  ideas.  "  Whole 
phrases  were  intelhgible,"  until  they  finally  de- 
veloped into  elaborate  compositions,  written  in- 


AUTOMATIC  WRITING  41 

differently  in  English,  Latin,  and  Greek,  the 
experimenter  having  an  excellent  command  of 
the  two  latter  languages.  Rude  drawings  were 
also  included  in  these  phenomena.  Curiously 
enough,  although  JVIrs.  Verrall  was  perfectly 
familiar  with  French,  and  constantly  dreamed 
in  this  language  and  was  apt  to  use  it  absolutely 
in  imaginary  conversation  with  herself,  there 
was  no  trace  of  this  language  in  the  script.  The 
subject  was  entirely  unaware  of  what  her  hand 
was  writing,  although  she  was  apt  to  perceive 
a  word  or  two,  but  never  understood  whether 
it  made  sense  with  what  went  before.  "  Under 
these  circumstances,"  the  report  states,  "  it  will 
be  seen  that  though  I  am  aware  at  the  moment 
of  writing  what  language  my  hand  is  using, 
when  the  script  is  finished  I  often  cannot  say 
till  I  read  it  what  language  has  been  used,  as 
the  recollection  of  the  words  passes  away  with 
extreme  rapidity."  In  each  experiment,  as  a 
rule,  the  writing  ceased  after  a  sheet  of  paper 
was  covered,  that  is  from  70  to  90  words,  but 
as  many  as  265  have  been  produced.  The  con- 
tent of  the  writing  embraced  all  sorts  of  topics; 
for  instance,  allusions,  descriptions  of  persons 
or  places,  exhortations,  messages,  reminiscences, 
anecdotes,  philosophical  and  quasimathematical 
disquisitions,  enigmatic  or  oracular  sayings,  etc. 
On  occasions,  Latin  and  Greek  verse  was  pro- 


42    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

duced,  although  the  subject  disclaimed  normally 
any  abihty  to  write  English  verse. 

One  interesting  point  mentioned  is  the  influ- 
ence of  the  content  of  writing  upon  the  writer, 
notwithstanding  her  ignorance  of  that  content. 
"  Thus,  once  I  found  the  tears  running  down 
my  face  when  the  writing  was  over;  the  con- 
tents apparently  alluded  to  two  friends  of  mine 
who  had  died  under  tragic  circumstances." 
On  another  occasion  her  left  hand,  which  was 
not  writing,  was  very  cold  and  she  had  a  recol- 
lection of  feeling  a  breeze  on  her  left  side. 
These  observations  are  in  accord  with  similar 
phenomena  frequently  described  in  abnormal 
mental  conditions  when  subconscious  ideas  pro- 
duce emotional  feelings  in  the  subject,  whether 
of  exaltation,  depression,  or  fear.  In  the  great 
majority  of  occasions  while  writing,  Mrs.  Ver- 
rall  was  in  a  "  perfectly  normal  condition,"  al- 
though often  she  felt  sleepy  and  a  few  times 
lost  consciousness  of  her  surroundings.  Tele- 
pathic experiments,  with  the  avowed  object  of 
determining  whether  information  unknown  to 
the  writer  could  be  conveyed  by  automatic  writ- 
ing, were  practically  unsuccessful.  The  failure 
of  these  telepathic  experiments  is  of  particular 
value  in  freeing  automatic  writing  from  any 
supernormal  interpretation  and  placing  it  be- 
yond doubt  on  the  basis  of  the  reproduction  of 


AUTOMATIC  WRITING  43 

past  experiences  or  fabrications  founded  on 
these  experiences. 

Sometimes  there  were  concomitant  phenom- 
ena, such  as  a  "  sudden  impulse  "  to  write  (21 
out  of  306  occasions)  and  a  feeling  of  fatigue 
and  discomfort  in  the  right  arm.  There  was, 
however,  no  anesthesia  of  the  writing  hand  and 
none  of  that  intense  abstraction,  with  its  sys- 
tematized anesthesia  of  all  the  sensory  and 
motor  functions,  which  has  been  observed  in 
hysterical  automatism.  In  these  hysterical  cases, 
however,  the  state  of  abstraction  may  be  so 
deep  that  little  or  nothing  is  left  of  the  wak- 
ing consciousness.  Under  these  circumstances 
a  kind  of  a  new  alternating  personaUty  has 
been  formed  and  it  is  this  new  personality 
which  does  the  writing.  The  real  self  thus  be- 
comes a  mere  narrow  automatism,  perhaps  al- 
most completely  asleep,  while  the  secondary  self 
is  active,  wide  awake,  and  intelligent.  This 
production  of  automatic  writing  while  the  sub- 
ject was  plunged  into  a  state  of  deep  abstrac- 
tion, was  found  in  the  Beauchamp  case  and  in 
Janet's  case  of  Mme.  B.  To  a  certain  extent 
it  was  also  present  in  the  Lowell  case  of  am- 
nesia, although  here  the  writing  consisted  of 
mere  scraps  of  dissociated  experiences. 

Automatic  writing  is  a  phenomenon  of  great 
experimental  value.     It  is  one  of  the  simplest 


44  EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

forms  of  mental  dissociation,  and  thus  through 
it  can  be  easily  studied  such  questions  as  whether 
we  are  deaHng  with  mere  mechanical  repetitions 
of  previous  experiences  or  with  unconscious  ac- 
tivities accompanied  by  thought,  and  also 
whether  these  simple  states  are  abortive,  alter- 
nating personalities.  Automatic  writing  also 
shows  how  automatism  and  independent  activity 
enter  into  states  of  mental  dissociation.  Thus 
we  have  in  automatic  writing  not  only  a  device, 
for  tapping  the  subconscious,  but  also  a  simple 
form  of  experimental  evidence  for  the  analysis 
of  many  disputed  points. 

To  interpret  automatic  writing  as  a  mere 
physiological  nervous  process  without  ideation 
is  incompatible  with  the  observed  facts,  be- 
cause not  only  are  records  of  previous  experi- 
ences reproduced,  but  also  elaborate  fabrications, 
mathematical  reasoning,  aritlmietical  problems, 
moods,  feehngs,  and  emotions.  Sometimes  a 
kind  of  an  abortive  secondary  or  alternating 
personaUty  will  make  its  appearance,  on  other 
occasions  an  alleged  new  language  may  be 
fabricated,  such  as  in  Hy slop's  case  of  Mrs. 
Smead  and  Flournoy's  case  of  Mile.  Helene 
Smith.  In  both  of  these  latter,  there  were 
alleged  communications  with  the  planet  Mars, 
with  the  formation  of  an  elaborate  Martian 
language. 


AUTOMATIC  WRITING  45 

In  automatic  writing  the  subject  may  or  may 
not  be  aware  of  what  the  writing  hand  is  pro- 
ducing, but  all  cases  show  automatism  and 
independent  activity.  The  test  of  automatic 
writing  is  not  the  sense  of  awareness,  but  rather 
the  independent  activity  of  the  consciousness 
that  is  doing  the  writing.  Automatic  writing 
may  occur  in  a  number  of  conditions  in  which 
there  is  a  splitting  of  consciousness  or  in  which 
the  mind  of  the  subject  lends  itself  to  an  easy 
dissociation.  Automatic  writers  may  show  other 
signs  of  mental  disintegration  (such  as  crystal 
gazing),  and  it  has  also  been  found  to  occur 
in  multiple  personality  and  in  certain  forms  of 
functional  amnesia.  In  both  these  latter  the 
writing  reproduces  experiences  which  the  sub- 
ject cannot  volimtarily  recall  to  consciousness 
as  memory.  Yet  the  abiUty  to  do  automatic 
writing  is  not  always  an  evidence  of  disease,  as 
the  phenomenon  may  occur  and  be  increased 
through  practice  in  perfectly  normal  and  well- 
balanced  individuals. 

Now  in  Mrs.  Verrall's  experiments,  the  con- 
tent of  the  writing  did  not  represent  mechanical 
repetition  of  previous  experiences,  such  as  might 
be  done  by  physiological  automatisms  of  nervous 
processes  without  accompanying  thought,  but 
there  were  often  elaborate  compositions  of  an 
original  character.    The  data  offered  by  the  au- 


46    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

thor  in  these  observations  are  of  extreme  value 
for  the  study  of  subconscious  phenomena,  in  that 
they  show  the  possibilities  of  the  splitting  of 
consciousness  and  the  formation  of  large  organ- 
ized systems  of  subconscious  thought  in  healthy 
individuals.  They  are  examples  of  subconscious 
activities  in  everyday  life,  occurring  in  subjects 
who  are  free  from  the  manifestations  of  any 
disease. 

Mrs.  Verrall's  data,  therefore,  contradict  the 
view  maintained  by  some  academic  psychol- 
ogists that  subconscious  phenomena,  Uke  tics 
and  choreiform  movements,  are  produced  sim- 
ply by  physiological  nerve  processes  without 
thought.  They  also  contribute  to  an  under- 
standing of  abnormal  conditions,  for  with  these 
normal  phenomena  in  mind  we  can  readily 
understand  that  when  the  subconscious  ideas 
have  an  undesirable  character,  like  fearful  or 
horrifying  or  repugnant  ideas  or  experiences, 
they  may  influence  the  personal  consciousness 
and  the  whole  organism  unfavorably  and  pro- 
duce abnormal  phenomena  such  as  occur  in 
hysteria.  This  was  well  seen  in  the  hysterical 
condition  of  Miss  F.,  who  forms  the  subject  of 
Chapter  VIII.  Here  a  horrifying  experience 
became  detached  from  the  personal  conscious- 
ness and  caused  a  series  of  hysterical  attacks. 
It  was  only  when  a  synthesis  of  these  detached 


AUTOMATIC  WRITING  47 

experiences  was  formed  with  the  waking  con- 
sciousness that  the  attacks  ceased. 

Now,  in  all  Mrs.  Verrall's  experiments,  there 
was  nothing  to  show  that  the  content  of  the 
automatic  writing  did  not  represent  the  previous 
knowledge  and  experiences  of  the  subject.  The 
most  pertinent  example  of  pure  fabrications  of 
a  highly  imaginative  character  occurring  in 
automatic  writing  is  seen  in  the  "  Martian 
Cycle  "  of  Flournoy's  celebrated  case  of  Mile. 
Helene  Smith.*  Here  the  alleged  supernormal 
knowledge  of  the  trance  personality  was  as 
much  fabrication  as  the  communications  them- 
selves. For  instance,  in  Mrs.  Verrall's  account, 
the  fact  that  allusions  to  Neoplatonic  phrase- 
ology appeared  in  the  script  before  these  writ- 
ers were  read,  can  well  be  explained  on  the  basis 
of  a  hasty  but  forgotten  glance  at  their  works, 
or  even  at  some  forgotten  essay. 

Much  that  has  been  stated  concerning  the 
mechanism  of  automatic  writing  can  be  apphed 
to  crystal  gazing.  In  spite  of  the  part  played 
by  crystal  gazing  in  necromancy  and  Eastern 
mysticism,  nothing  can  be  reproduced  as  a  crys- 
tal vision  which  has  not  already  been  a  part  of 
personal  experience,  although  tliis  experience  may 
have  been  dissociated.  In  the  production  of  these 
visions  the  subject  gazes  into  a  crystal  globe 

*See  Flournoy:  "From  India  to  the  Planet  Mars,"  pp.  139-27i. 


48    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

and  at  the  same  time  attempts  to  keep  the  mind 
a  blank  and  free  from  external  stimuli.  The 
state  of  abstraction  thus  produced  in  crystal 
gazing  "  taps  "  the  subconscious  experiences  in 
the  same  manner  that  they  are  tapped  through 
automatic  writing.  After  a  short  time  isolated 
or  complex  pictures  appear  in  the  crystal. 
These  are  usually  very  vague  at  first,  but  later 
become  more  distinct.  Like  automatic  writing, 
crystal  visions  may  take  place  in  normal  indi- 
viduals, although  they  are  produced  with  greater 
ease  in  those  persons  who  have  an  abnormal  in- 
stabiUty  or  who  are  victims  of  a  pathological 
disintegration  of  the  personality.  In  the  Beau- 
champ  case,  the  crystal  visions  threw  consider- 
able light  on  the  experiences  of  the  various  per- 
sonahties.  In  one  of  our  cases  (Mrs.  Y.^),  it 
served  as  a  device  for  reproducing  some  of  the 
incidents  of  the  split  personality. 

Mrs.  Y.  showed  four  multiple  hypnotic  states 
for  which  she  was  anmesic  in  her  waking  condi- 
tion. The  crystal  visions  in  this,  patient  were 
revivals  of  past  experiences.  Some  of  these  ex- 
periences the  patient  remembered;  others  could 
only  be  recalled  in  hypnosis.  For  instance,  in 
one  of  the  hypnotic  states  for  which  there  was 
no  memory  on  awakening,  the  emotional  reac- 
tion was  one  of  hatred  and  disgust.     When  a 

» See  chapter  on  "  The  Splitting  of  a  Personality." 


AUTOMATIC  WRITING  49 

crystal  vision  of  the  same  experience  was  pro- 
duced, the  emotional  reaction  was  the  same.  It 
seems  that  whatever  device  was  used  for  syn- 
thesis, either  hypnosis  or  crystal  gazing,  the 
reproduced  memories  were  associated  with  cer- 
tain emotions.  These  emotions  had  attached 
themselves  to  the  dissociated  experiences,  and 
when  these  experiences  were  revived  by  either 
of  the  methods,  the  associated  emotions  likewise 
appear.  The  following  is  a  partial  record  of 
the  crystal  visions  belonging  to  dissociated 
experiences  in  the  life  of  the  subject,  the  de- 
tails of  which  were  given  in  hypnosis  and  not 
remembered  on  awakening. 

"I  see  my  husband  choking  me,  that  terrible  man 
choking  me,  with  his  hand  around  my  throat." 

"  I  see  Dr.  J.  chatting  with  me.  I  am  in  his  office. 
It  is  so  strange  I  am  sitting  there  and  seem  to  be  in  a 
hurry." 

"  I  see  ray  brother,  a  surgeon  in  the  British  army. 
He  is  just  home  from  Burmah.  He  is  in  a  gray  suit 
and  standing  beside  me  and  my  sister.  It  is  trimmed 
with  red  and  he  lias  all  his  decorations.  The  scene  is 
on  a  beach." 

The  ease  with  which  crystal  visions  were  pro- 
duced in  Miss  Beauchamp,  was  one  of  the  evi- 
dences of  the  facihty  with  which  disintegration 
took  place  in  this  subject.     One  of  the  inci- 


50    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

dents  offers  a  good  example  of  the  manner  in 
which  subconscious  experiences  may  be  repro- 
duced as  crystal  visions/  The  report  follows, 
Chris  and  Miss  Beauchamp  being  different  per- 
sonalities of  the  same  subject.  Chris  or  Sally 
was  mischievous,  fond  of  fun,  and  playing  prac- 
tical jokes;  while  Miss  Beauchamp  was  quiet, 
sedate,  and  demure. 

In  the  course  of  the  interview  of  May  1,  reported  in 
the  last  chapter,  Chris  remarked  that  she  smelled  the 
odor  of  a  cigarette  which  I  had  been  smoking.  I  of- 
fered her  one.  Delighted  at  the  idea,  she  accepted,  but 
smoked  the  cigarette  very  clumsily.  The  fact  that 
smoking  is  something  absolutely  repugnant  to  Miss 
Beauchamp's  taste  added  to  Chris's  enjoyment.  Her 
manner  was  that  of  a  child  in  mischief. 

**  Won't  she  be  cross  ?  "  she  laughed. 

«Why?» 

"  She  is  not  in  the  habit  of  smoking  cigarettes.  I 
shall  smoke  though."  Miss  Beauchamp  when 
awakened,  entirely  ignorant  of  what  she  had  been  doing, 
complained  of  a  bitter  taste  in  her  mouth,  but  could 
not  identify  it,  and  I  did  not  enlighten  her.  At  the 
next  interview  I  remarked  to  Chris,  "  Wasn't  it  funny 
to  see  Miss  Beauchamp  when  she  tasted  the  tobacco  in 
her  mouth,  and  did  not  know  what  it  was?  " 

Chris  laughed  and  thought  it  was  a  good  joke.  *'  Yes, 
she  thought  you  had  been  putting  quinine  in  her  mouth, 
but  did  not  dare  ask  her."    This  remark,  later  verified 

*"The  Diasociation  of  a  Personality,"  pp.  54-56. 


AUTOMATIC  WRITING  51 

T)y  Miss  Beauchamp,  was  one  of  many  which  showed 
Chris  had  knowledge  of  Miss  Beauchamp's  thoughts. 

The  sequel  to  this  episode  was  amusing.  At  a  later 
period  I  was  engaged  in  making  an  experimental  study 
of  visions,  and  for  the  purpose  had  Miss  Beauchamp 
(BI)  look  into  a  glass  wherein  she  saw  various  visions 
of  one  kind  and  another.  That  is  to  say,  the  phe- 
nomena of  so-called  crystal  visions  were  easily  pro- 
duced, and  she  proved  an  excellent  subject.  These 
visions  were,  for  the  most  part,  reproductions  of  past 
experiences.  In  one  experiment  she  was  horrified  and 
astonished  on  looking  into  the  globe  to  see  the  scene  of 
the  cigarette  rehearsed  in  all  its  details.  She  saw  her- 
self sitting  on  a  sofa — the  identical  sofa  on  which  she 
was  at  the  moment  seated — smoking  cigarettes.  Her 
eyes,  in  the  vision,  were  closed.  (Chris's  eyes  were  al- 
ways closed  at  this  time.)  It  was  amusing  to  watch 
the  expression  of  astonishment  and  chagrin  with  which 
she  beheld  herself  in  this  Bohemian  act.  She  indig- 
nantly repudiated  the  fact,  declared  it  was  not  true, 
and  that  she  had  never  smoked  a  cigarette  in  her  life. 
The  childlike  expression  on  her  face  in  the  vision — 
Chris's  face — which  she  characterized  as  "  foolish " 
also  annoyed  her. 

In  another  case  of  the  automatic  writing, 
which  came  under  personal  observation,  the 
first  efforts  of  the  subject  produced  only  scat- 
tered and  disconnected  words.  By  practice, 
however,  the  ability  to  do  the  writing  increased, 
and  the  productions  became  more  complex,  until 


52     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

she  was  able  to  carry  on  communications  with 
an  alleged  control.  In  this  subject,  there  was 
neither  abstraction  nor  a  trance  state  and  the 
sense  of  awareness  during  the  period  of  writ- 
ing, was  almost  complete.  The  thoughts  seemed 
to  precede  the  writing  by  the  fraction  of  a  sec- 
ond, but  they  ,were  automatic  and  independent 
of  the  subject.  She  had  no  control  over  these 
thoughts  or  over  the  movements  of  the  hand 
which  was  doing  the  writing.  It  was  very 
curious  to  watch  this  subject  during  this  process. 
The  eyes  were  widely  opened  as  she  watched  the 
pencil  in  the  moving  hand.  Sometimes  the  writ- 
ing was  faint,  but  on  other  occasions  the  hand 
wrote  rapidly  and  with  such  great  force  that 
the  pencil  point  became  frequently  broken  or 
the  sheet  of  paper  torn.  Under  some  condi- 
tions mere  marks  and  scrawls  would  be  pro- 
duced; at  other  times,  words  and  sentences.  As 
a  rule,  however,  even  the  sentences  were  rather 
vague  in  their  meaning,  while  any  elaborate 
fabrications  were  entirely  absent.  The  subject 
was  very  easily  hypnotized  and  on  several  occa- 
sions, while  in  a  normal  condition,  she  spon- 
taneously experienced  a  sense  of  unreality. 
These  phenomena  in  connection  with  the  auto- 
matic writing  were  evidences  of  the  ease  with 
which  mental  dissociation  took  place  in  this 
subject.     Thus  automatic  writing  and  crystal 


AUTOMATIC  WRITING  53 

gazing  are  merely  technical  devices  utilized  in 
psychopathology,  by  means  of  which  experi- 
ences long  forgotten  and  impossible  of  recall  by 
voluntary  effort,  may  be  revived. 

Sometimes  also,  automatic  writing  may 
merely  fulfill  or  realize  the  wish  of  the  subject, 
the  same  as  in  dreams  and  thus  give  rise  to 
symptomatic  actions.  An  interesting  example 
of  a  fulfilling  of  a  wish  once  came  under  per- 
sonal observation.  It  related  to  a  young  woman 
who  had  made  several  ineffectual  attempts  to 
consult  me  while  I  was  on  a  vacation.  She  had 
in  the  past  experimented  some  with  a  planchette 
(a  mechanical  device  for  automatic  writing) 
and  one  day  she  decided  to  "  ask  "  the  instru- 
ment the  date  of  my  return.  The  pencil  there- 
upon persistently  wrote  the  figure  five  and  then 
added  *'  September  5,"  which  the  subject  took 
to  mean  that  I  would  return  on  that  day.  Al- 
though I  actually  returned  several  days  earlier, 
she  did  not  call  until  September  fifth,  which 
date  I  found  on  questioning,  to  be  most  con- 
venient for  her.  Thus,  through  her  actions  she 
realized  her  wish  for  convenience,  a  wish  which 
was  revealed  some  time  earlier  through  auto- 
matic  writing. 


CHAPTER  III 

TESTING    THE    EMOTIONS 

When  we  approach  the  study  of  the  emo- 
tions, physiology  and  psychology  become  in- 
separable. Before  the  mental  accompaniments 
of  the  various  emotions  can  be  imderstood,  we 
must  have  a  clear  comprehension  of  the  physio- 
logical or  physical  aspects  of  these  mental  states. 
While  this  chapter  will  be  devoted  principally 
to  the  abnormal  aspects  of  the  emotions,  yet  it 
will  be  necessary  to  give  a  summary  of  the 
various  theories  of  normal  emotional  processes, 
to  which  will  be  added  the  more  recent  experi- 
mental researches  on  the  question,  such  as  the 
electrical  phenomena  (the  psycho-galvanic  re- 
flex) and  a  modification  of  these  phenomena, 
namely,  the  pulse  reaction  tests.  Like  sleep, 
the  emotions  are  instinctive  and  are  inseparable 
from  our  everyday  psychic  existence.  As  a 
prehminary,  there  can  be  applied  to  the  emo- 
tions the  same  important  question  as  can  be 
applied  to  sleep,  namely,  at  what  step  in  evolu- 
tion did  the  emotions  first  appear?  This  ques- 
tion is  more  easily  propounded  than  answered, 

6i 


TESTING  THE  EMOTIONS  55 

for  the  emotions  are  very  complex  phenomena 
and  enter  into  all  the  phases  of  our  every- 
day existence.  In  animals,  possessing  a  well- 
organized  nervous  system,  well-marked  emo- 
tional expressions  occur,  yet  these  seem  to  be 
absent  from  the  lower  organisms,  in  which  the 
nervous  system  is  either  entirely  absent  or  is 
hmited  to  a  mere  collection  of  ganglion  cells. 
If  this  be  true,  then  the  manifestations  of  the 
emotions  must  have  arisen  at  some  phase  of 
natural  selection  and  possibly  the  physical  ex- 
pressions of  certain  emotions  were  a  strong  fac- 
tor in  the  early  struggles  for  existence.  Since 
emotional  expressions  require  a  certain  active 
state  of  consciousness,  it  may  be  said  in  general, 
although,  of  course,  this  statement  is  open  to 
certain  modifications  and  corrections,  that  the 
emotions  can  only  take  place  in  organisms  whose 
nervous  system  has  reached  such  a  state  of 
development  that  this  active  consciousness  pos- 
sesses a  certain  intensity.  Emotions,  therefore, 
would  be  completely  absent  from  all  organisms 
whose  nervous  system  was  in  a  very  rudi- 
mentary condition,  incompletely  developed  in 
those  animals  possessing  a  moderately  complex 
brain,  and  reaching  their  highest  expression  in 
the  higher  animals  and  man,  where  the  nervous 
system  has  assimied  a  great  complexity  of 
structure. 


56      EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

Emotional  reactions  are  highly  complex  func- 
tions of  the  nervous  system  and  their  intensity 
and  complexity  are  parallel  with  the  develop- 
ment of  the  brain.  While  there  seem  to  be 
no  special  brain  centres  for  the  emotions,  yet 
if  the  brain  is  removed  or  profoundly  diseased, 
as  in  certain  states  of  dementia  and  in  some 
physiological  experiments,  the  emotions  either 
pass  into  simple  reflex  acts  or  are  entirely 
absent.  This  is  well  seen  in  the  emotional 
apathy  of  the  terminal  stages  of  such  mental 
diseases  as  general  paralysis  and  dementia 
prsecox. 

The  higher  animals,  such  as  the  cat,  dog,  cer- 
tain birds,  monkeys,  and  anthropoid  apes,  not 
only  have  a  wide  range  of  emotions,  but  the 
physiological  expression  of  these  emotions  is 
almost  as  graphic  as  in  man.  Of  course, 
none  of  these  animals  can  express  the  finer 
emotions,  such  as  meditation,  laughter,  blushing, 
modesty,  etc.,  but  the  more  primitive  and  ele- 
mentary emotional  expressions,  such  as  anger, 
fear,  and  surprise  are  as  well  developed  in  some 
of  the  higher  vertebrates  as  in  man.  Whether 
or  not  the  accompanying  mental  states  are  as 
intense,  we  have  no  means  of  judging,  but  cer- 
tainly if  the  physical  expression  of  these  states 
can  be  taken  as  an  indication,  they  must  be  so  in 
every  particular,   although  in   animals  we  are 


TESTING  THE   EMOTIONS  57 

hopelessly    cut    off    from     any     introspective 
evidence. 

Taking  the  emotions  in  their  widest  sense,  as 
comprising  both  the  physiological  symptoms 
and  their  mental  accompaniments,  we  arrive  at 
the  important  question, — what  is  the  cause  and 
interpretation  of  these  various  manifestations? 
It  is  a  fact  of  common  experience  that  certain 
reactions  of  the  bodily  organs  are  characteristic 
of  certain  emotions,  bodily  manifestations  which 
have  been  known  from  time  immemorial  and  have 
pervaded  the  literature  and  art  of  all  nations. 
These  physiological  accompaniments  of  the  emo- 
tions take  place  in  all  the  organs, — respiration 
becomes  affected,  the  heart  beat  becomes  either 
fast  or  slow,  there  is  either  an  inhibition  or  an 
excitation  of  the  secretory  and  mechanical  fac- 
tors of  the  stomach  and  intestines,  the  muscular 
system  changes  in  its  tension,  and  even  the  skin 
reacts  in  various  ways.  The  sight  or  even  the 
idea  of  a  tempting  morsel  of  food  will  "  make 
the  mouth  water,"  while  fear  inhibits  the  salivary 
secretion,  so  that  an  excessive  dryness  of  the 
mouth  takes  place.  In  states  of  bravery  the 
limbs  are  held  tense  by  the  muscular  contrac- 
tions;— in  fear,  the  limbs  tremble,  the  heart- 
beat becomes  accelerated,  the  "  hair  of  the  flesh 
stands  up."  Mental  states  of  anxiety  or  ap- 
prehension frequently   accompany   pathological 


58   EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

states  of  rapid  heart  reaction,  known  in  medicine 
as  paroxysmal  tachycardia. 

We  see,  then,  that  the  emotions  possess  two 
distinct  phenomena, — the  physical  or  physio- 
logical, relating  to  the  viscera,  and  the  psychical 
or  state  of  cerebral  action.  Some  authorities 
state  that  emotion  begins  as  a  mental  state, 
and  it  is  this  mental  state  which  influences  the 
various  organs  and  the  vascular  apparatus. 
For  them,  the  emotions  are  primary  cerebral 
reactions,  the  visceral  expressions  being  purely 
secondary.  This  theory  is  supported  by  certain 
important  facts.  If  the  hemispheres  of  the 
brain  are  removed  in  an  animal  (Goltz's  experi- 
ments) it  will  not  show  the  slightest  vestige 
of  emotional  reaction.  Even  the  coarser  emo- 
tions, such  as  anger  and  pleasure,  will  be  absent. 
In  states  of  dementia  or  mental  enfeeblement 
and  in  certain  other  mental  diseases,  the  finer 
emotions  are  likewise  absent.  In  other  words, 
there  is  a  condition  of  what  has  been  called 
emotional  apathy  or  emotional  atrophy.  The 
opposite  view,  which  may  be  termed  the  periph- 
eral theory  of  the  emotions,  as  held  by  James, 
Lange,  and  Sergi,  states  that  the  mental  state 
of  emotion  is  secondary  to  the  actions  of  the 
viscera,  particularly  the  circulatory  organs. 
These  organs  are  thrown  into  a  state  of  activity 
and  excitation  through  certain  peculiar  stimuli. 


TESTING  THE  EMOTIONS  69 

Professor  James  says,  "  Our  natural  way  of 
thinking  about  these  coarser  emotions  is  that 
the  mental  perception  of  some  fact  excites  the 
mental  affection  called  the  emotion  and  that  this 
latter  state  of  mind  gives  rise  to  the  bodily  ex- 
pression. My  theory,  on  the  contrary,  is  that 
the  bodily  changes  follow  directly  the  percep- 
tion of  the  exciting  fact,  and  that  our  feeling 
of  the  same  changes  as  they  occur  is  the  emo- 
tion. Common  sense  says,  we  lose  our  fortune, 
are  sorry  and  weep;  we  meet  a  bear,  are  fright- 
ened and  run;  we  are  insulted  by  a  rival,  are 
angry  and  strike.  .  .  The  more  rational  state- 
ment is  that  we  feel  sorry  because  we  cry,  angry 
because  we  strike,  afraid  because  we  tremble,  and 
not  that  we  cry,  strike,  or  tremble,  because  we  are 
sorry,  angry,  or  fearful,  as  the  case  may  be.  .  . 
If  we  fancy  some  strong  emotion  and  then  try 
to  abstract  from  our  consciousness  of  it  all  the 
feelings  of  its  bodily  symptoms,  we  find  we  have 
nothing  left  behind,  no  '  mind  stuff '  out  of 
which  the  emotion  can  be  constituted,  and  that 
a  cold  and  mental  state  of  intellectual  percep- 
tion is  all  that  remains."  ^  In  order  to  dis- 
prove this  hypothesis,  Sherrington  has  shown,' 

» William  James:  "The  Principles  of  Psychology,"  Vol.  II, 
pp.  442  et  geq. 

*C.  S.  Sherrington:  "The  Integrative  Action  of  the  Nervous 
System." 


60      EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

that  if  an  experiment  be  performed  on  an  animal 
in  such  a  manner  so  as  to  remove  all  sensation 
of  the  bodily  organs,  the  skin  and  muscles,  upon 
which  Professor  James  lays  so  much  stress  in 
his  peripheral  theory  of  the  emotions,  that  the 
animal  thus  experimented  upon  shows  all  grades 
of  emotional  expression.  Here  the  brain  was 
left  intact  but  the  peripheral  sensations  were 
obUterated,  yet  no  alteration  occurred  in  the 
emotional  character  of  the  animal.  Further- 
more, the  changes  in  the  electrical  resistance  of 
the  body  under  the  influence  of  certain  emotions 
as  measured  by  a  delicate  galvanometer  and  also 
the  emotional  fluctuations  in  the  pulse  rate,  force 
us  back  to  the  fact  that  the  emotions  are  central 
and  not  peripheral  in  origin.  To  the  ordinary 
individual,  this  central  theory  of  the  emotions  is 
the  most  logical  one;  he  trembles  because  he 
is  afraid,  he  strikes  because  he  is  angry,  etc. 

It  has  also  been  shown,  by  the  investigations 
of  the  Russian  physiologist  Pawlow,^  how  the 
secretions  of  the  stomach  and  intestines  are 
largely  influenced  by  the  mental  state  of  the 
animals  on  which  he  experimented.  The  results 
obtained  have  also  been  confirmed  in  experi- 
ments on  man.  Gastric  and  salivary  secretion 
took   place   in   dogs    when    the    animals   were 

•  See  the  interesting  book  by  J.  P.  Pawlow:  "The  Work  of  the 
Digestive  Glands,"  1910. 


TESTING  THE  EMOTIONS  61 

tempted  with  food,  but  not  with  indifferent  sub- 
stances, such  as  stones  or  pieces  of  rubber, 
whereas  threatening  a  dog  with  a  whip  entirely 
arrested  gastric  secretion.  These  experiments 
showed  that  the  stimulus  of  a  pleasant  emotion, 
associated  with  food,  called  into  activity  the 
secretion  of  the  gastric  and  salivary  glands, 
while  the  depressing  emotion  of  fear  had  an 
exactly  opposite,  inhibitory  influence.  It  is  a 
matter  of  common  observation  how  the  sight  or 
even  the  abstract  idea  of  an  appetizing,  tempt- 
ing morsel  of  food  will  make  the  mouth  water, 
while  the  states  of  fear,  and  also  in  the  patho- 
logical fear  neuroses,  an  opposite  condition 
takes  place,  the  secretion  of  saliva  is  inhibited 
and  a  dryness  of  the  mouth  results. 

Furthermore,  Cannon  has  shown,  in  some  in- 
vestigations on  the  movements  of  the  stomach 
and  intestines  in  animals,  the  intimate  relation- 
ship existing  between  emotional  states  and  the 
mechanical  factors  of  digestion,  and  also  that 
the  secretion  of  the  adrenal  gland  may  be  influ- 
enced by  emotional  stimulation.  He  states,  for 
instance — 

"  Any  signs  of  emotional  disturbance,  even  the  rest- 
lessness and  emotional  mewing,  which  may  be  taken  to 
indicate  uneasiness  and  discomfort,  were  accompanied 
in  the  cat  by  total  cessation  of  the  segmenting  move- 
ments of  the  small  intestines,  as  well  as  complete  quies- 


62  EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

cence  of  the  gastric  mechanism.  During  more  than 
an  hour  of  continuous  watching  such  signs  of  anxiety 
have  been  attended  by  entire  inactivity  of  every  part 
of  the  alimentary  canal." 

Studies  along  these  lines  are  of  value  in  the 
interpretation  of  pathological  effects  of  certain 
emotions  upon  the  gastro-intestinal  functions  of 
man,  and  they  throw  considerable  light  upon  the 
visceral  expressions  of  some  of  the  fear  neuroses. 
Such  investigations  help  to  explain  the  mys- 
terious effect  of  certain  psychical  processes  upon 
the  body.  The  various  pubhcations  of  Pawlow 
had  already  pointed  out  the  influences  of  mental 
states  in  animals  upon  the  secretions  and  motor 
power  of  both  the  stomach  and  intestines.  Ob- 
servations in  man  have  shown  the  same  phenom- 
ena to  occur  as  the  result  of  certain  emotional 
conditions.  Cannon  does  not  restrict  the  word 
emotions  to  violent  affective  states,  but  uses  the 
term  in  a  wider,  popular  sense,  as  including  all 
affective  experiences.  The  emotions  precede  the 
bodily  change,  the  nervous  connections  of  the 
viscera  acting  merely  as  conduction  paths.  It 
was  demonstrated  by  Cannon,  that  if  these  nerv- 
ous connections  were  severed,  mental  excitement 
caused  no  inhibitory  effect  upon  the  movements 
of  the  stomach  or  intestines.  Pawlow  also 
showed  that  if  the  nervous  connections  of  the 
stomach  were  severed,  there  was  no  flow  of 
gastric  juice  in  his  so-called  sham  feeding  experi- 


TESTING  THE  EMOTIONS  63 

ments.  If  we  take  these  physiological  investiga- 
tions (Sherrington,  Pawlow,  Cannon),  as  the 
basis  of  a  theory,  it  would  seem  to  follow  that 
the  visceral  expressions  of  the  emotions  were 
secondary  to  the  psychical  state. 

Both  the  motor  power  and  secretory  activity 
of  the  alimentary  canal  are  largely  dependent 
upon  the  nature  of  the  excitation  in  the  nervous 
system.  Normal  secretion  is  favored  by  pleas- 
urable sensations;  unpleasant  feelings,  such  as 
fright  and  rage,  are  accompanied  not  only  by 
a  failure  of  secretion,  but  also  by  total  cessation 
of  the  movements  of  the  stomach  and  intestine. 
The  sight  of  food  to  a  hungry  subject  causes  a 
flow  of  gastric  juice.  The  inhibitory  result  of 
emotional  states  can  persist  long  after  the  cessa- 
tion of  the  exciting  condition.  Many  of  the 
abnormal  motor  and  secretory  digestive  dis- 
turbances of  man  are  caused  by  the  emotional 
state  of  the  subject.  These  physiological  experi- 
ments show  how  profoundly  the  mental  state 
may  affect  favorably  or  unfavorably,  not  only 
the  secretions  but  also  the  movements  of  the 
stomach  and  intestines. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  briefly  discuss  the 
more  exact  methods  of  detecting  the  emotions, 
methods  which  not  only  have  the  qualitative 
value  of  giving  us  a  finer  insight  into  the  mental 
side  of  the  feehngs,  but  which  also  have  a  certain 


64   EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

quantitative  value.  In  other  words,  we  are  able 
to  measure  the  emotions  the  same  way  as  by 
other  methods  we  can  measure  the  depth  of 
sleep  or  the  intensity  of  a  sensation  of  sound, 
light,  or  pain.  These  newer  methods  no  longer 
make  us  dependent  on  the  coarser  bodily  ex- 
pressions of  feelings,  such  as  blushing  when 
we  are  ashamed,  crying  when  we  are  in  grief, 
or  trembling  when  we  are  afraid.  Yet  in  many 
cases  the  shame,  grief,  or  fear  may  be  sup- 
pressed by  the  subject  and  show  no  outward 
manifestations.  Further,  these  feehngs  may  be 
connected  with  a  special  episode  or  experi- 
ence which  the  subject  is  anxious  to  hide  for 
fear  of  detection,  or  purposely  conceals,  be- 
cause even  the  thinking  of  the  experience  may 
be  mentally  painful.  We  shall  see  later  how 
large,  a  part  these  "  strangulated  emotions " 
play  in  the  genesis  of  certain  hysterical  mani- 
festations. How  then  are  we  to  detect  these 
hidden  suppressed  emotions,  when  we  have  no 
gross  bodily  symptoms  to  guide  us  and  give 
us  a  clue?  How  are  we  to  know  that  cer- 
tain words  which  we  speak,  or  certain  incidents 
to  which  we  may  refer,  arouse  in  the  mind 
of  the  subject  an  emotional  meaning?  What 
is  the  effect  of  this  aroused  emotion  upon  the 
finer  physiological  processes  of  the  body  or  upon 
the    actions    of    the    mind?     It    is    just    here 


TESTING  THE  EMOTIONS  65 

that    experimental    psychology    comes    to    our 
rescue. 

Recent  investigations  on  the  emotions  have 
furnished  us  with  exact  methods  of  psycho- 
physical research  in  this  direction/  In  states  of 
abstraction,  produced  by  having  a  reclining  sub- 
ject listen  to  a  monotonous  sound  stimulus,  such 
as  the  beating  of  a  metronome,  there  results 
after  a  time  a  lowering  of  the  pulse  rate.  This 
lowered  or  rest  pulse  rate  remains  permanent,  so 
long  as  the  subject  continues  in  this  quiescent 
mental  state.  If,  while  he  is  in  this  condition, 
the  subject  be  given  certain  abstract  problems 
to  solve,  or  certain  startling  and  painful  stimuli 
be  used,  or  if  he  be  made  to  think  of  indifferent 
words,  the  pulse  rate  remains  unchanged.  The 
condition  of  mental  serenity  in  the  abstract  state 
is  unaltered.  [See  Fig.  I.]  On  the  contrary, 
if  the  subject  be  asked  to  recall  individual 
emotional  experiences  or  to  think  of  isolated 
test  words  having  a  direct  association  or  rela- 
tion to  these  experiences,  there  results  an  almost 
immediate  increase  in  the  pulse  rate.  This  in- 
crease lasts  only  for  a  hmited  time,  however. 
That  is  to  say,  only  words  or  mental  processes 
suggesting  emotions  can  cause  an  increase  in  the 

*  Coriat:  "  Certain  Pulse  Reactions  as  a  Measure  of  the  Emo- 
tions."—Jottriui/  Abnormal  Psychology,  Vol.  IV,  No.  4,  1909. 
Peterson  and  Jung:  "  Psycho-Physical  Investigations  with  the 
Galvanometer."— Brain,  Vol.  XXX,  1907. 


66     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

rate  of  the  pulse.  All  other  words  or  mental 
processes  remain  ineffective.  This  is  not  a  blind 
automatic  phenomenon,  however,  for  there  seems 


\* 


kf  »»  »1^ 


Fio.  I. — A  pulse  curve  in  a  normal  subject  in  a  state  of  abstrac- 
tion. In  this  experiment  the  subject  was  requested  to  do  some 
problems  requiring  mental  effort,  such  as  ordinary  mental 
calculation,  or  to  think  of  ordinary  words  that  had  no  per- 
sonal emotional  meaning.  Notice  that  no  change  took  place 
in  the  pulse  curve.  It  remained  a  straight  line.  The  numbers 
above  the  curve  refer  to  the  pulse  beats  per  minute. 

to  be  a  selective  action  of  the  nervous  mechan- 
ism controlling  the  heart  beat,  to  the  influence 
of  certain  emotions. 

A  few  examples  taken  from  personal  observa- 
tions will  make  the  matter  clearer.  For  instance, 
in  a  patient  who  was  afraid  to  remain  alone  be- 
cause of  an  abnormal  state  of  fear,  if  asked  to 
think  of  the  word  alone,  the  pulse  rate  rose  from 
88  to  104  per  minute.  An  indifferent  word,  such 
as  snow,  caused  no  increase  in  the  pulse  rate. 
Here  the  word  alone,  through  association,  re- 
called to  the  patient's  mind  all  the  emotions  of 
the  pathological  fears,  whereas  the  word  snow 
stimulated  no  emotion  whatsoever.  In  another 
subject,  who  had  a  fear  of  dogs,  indifferent 
words  were  ineffective,  whereas  if  the  subject 
were  asked  to  think  of  the  word  dog  or  of  words 


TESTING  THE  EMOTIONS 


67 


relating  to  this  particular  animal,  the  pulse  rate 
would  increase  over  the  usual  rate  from  12  to 
20  per  minute.  [See  Fig.  II.]  In  stiU  an- 
other patient,  during  a 
series  of  experiments, 
the  test  words  book  and 
glass  were  given  as  in- 
different stimuh.  To 
my  surprise  each  word 
caused  a  marked  ac- 
celeration of  the  pulse. 
Later  questioning  re- 
vealed the  interesting 
fact,  that  some  time 
previously  she  had 
dreamed  of  broken 
glass,  and  on  consulting  a  popular  dream  book, 
found  that  this  dream  signified  trouble.  The 
idea  of  trouble  thus  evolved  as  an  emotion  was 
woven  into  the  patient's  delusions,  although 
previously  she  had  failed  to  mention,  in  fact 
purposely  concealed,  these  particular  episodes. 
They  were  revealed,  however,  by  the  pulse  reac- 
tions. [See  Fig.  III.]  Thus  we  seem  to  have, 
not  only  a  method  for  measuring  and  detecting 
known  emotions,  but  also  a  method  for  dis- 
covering suppressed  or  concealed  emotions,  and 
furthermore,  another  experimental  proof  that  the 
psychical  state  is  the  cause  of  the  physiological 


Fio.  II. — A  portion  of  a  pulse 
curve  from  a  subject  who 
had  an  unreasonable  and 
abnormal  fear  of  dogs. 
Note  the  sudden  rise  at  1, 
the  pulse  rate  increasing 
from  96  to  116  beats  a 
minute,  when  the  word  dog 
was  mentioned. 


68  EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

reaction.  The  pulse  rate  thus  becomes  a  deli- 
cate index  for  the  emotions  and  for  the  stimu- 
lation of  complexes.     For  these  pulse  reaction 


u 


-'S/V- 


-A^ 


Pig.  III. — A  portion  of  the  pulse  curve,  from  the  experiments  on 
the  subject  mentioned  in  the  text.  Note  the  two  sudden  rises 
in  the  curve  at  1  and  2,  when  the  words  glass  and  book  were 
used  as  test  words.  Both  these  words  had  a  strong  emotional 
meaning  for  the  subject.  The  figures  at  the  top  of  the  curve 
refer  to  the  number  of  pulse  beats  a  minute. 

phenomena,  the  name  of  the  psycho-cardiac  re- 
flex is  proposed.  This  reflex,  which  has  been 
of  value  in  the  analysis  of  certain  abnormal 
mental  states,  is  due  to  the  action  of  the  nerv- 
ous system  upon  the  rate  of  the  heart  beat. 

Other  experiments  show  these  phenomena  in 
a  still  more  remarkable  manner.  The  apparatus 
used  is  more  complicated  however,  and  the  cause 
of  the  reactions  not  so  clear.  It  has  been 
demonstrated  that  if  a  weak  electrical  current  be 
passed  through  the  body  from  a  galvanic  cell, 
the  subject  being  connected  with  the  battery 
by  means  of  the  palms  of  the  hands  placed 
flat  on  a  metal  plate,  and  this  current  be 
measured  by  a  delicate  instrument  called  a  gal- 
vanometer, that  the  emotions  will  cause  varia- 
tions in  this  electrical  current.    These  variations 


TESTING  THE  EMOTIONS  69 

occur  particularly  when  words  having  an  emo- 
tional meaning  are  called  out  to  the  subject, 
indifferent  test  words  or  ordinary  intellectual 
processes  causing  no  reaction  whatever.  [See 
Fig.  IV.]     The  activity  of  the  sweat  glands  in 


Fio.  IV. — A  galvanometric  curve  in  one  of  Jung's  cases.  The 
subject  was  a  total  abstainer.  Ordinary  test  words  up  to  6 
produced  no  effect.  When  the  word  restaurant  was  mentioned 
at  7,  there  was  an  immediate  rise  in  the  curve.  Later  the 
subject  confessed  that  in  the  past  he  had  once  been  arrested 
for  drunkenness,  and  because  of  this  occurrence  he  had  since 
been  a  total  abstainer.  In  this  particular  case,  the  word 
restaurant  stimulated  strong  emotional  memories,  hence  the 
electrical  reaction. 

the  skin  is  under  nervous  influence;  changes 
in  this  activity  through  emotional  disturbances 
alter  the  resistance  of  these  glands,  and  this 
perhaps  is  the  cause  of  the  electrical  varia- 
tions. A  more  recent  investigation  has  shown 
that  the  galvanic  phenomenon  may  be  of  mus- 
cular origin.  It  is  of  interest  to  note  that 
in  those  mental  conditions  in  which  the  emo- 
tions are  absent,  such  as  in  the  states  of 
dementia,  the  electrical  reactions  are  also  ab- 
sent. Where  the  emotions  are  intense  and 
active,  as  in  hysteria,  the  electrical  reactions  are 


70      EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

very  marked  and  prolonged.  In  some  pathologi- 
cal conditions,  as  in  cases  of  multiple  personality, 
it  is  not  necessary  that  the  test  words  relate  to 
emotional  states  present  in  consciousness.  Sub- 
conscious mental  experiences  can  cause  electrical 
variations  in  the  same  manner  as  conscious  proc- 
esses, a  fact  which  is  also  true  of  the  pulse  varia- 
tions.    [See  Fig.  V.]     It  has  also  been  demon- 


Fio.  V. — A  portion  of  a  galvanometric  curve  from  a  case  of 
multiple  personality  reported  by  Dr.  Prince.  The  subject  had 
an  intense  fear  of  cats,  probably  originating  in  an  experience 
of  childhood,  which  was  revealed  through  automatic  writing. 
Here  a  subconscious  mental  experience  caused  the  electrical 
reaction.  When  the  test  word  cat  was  mentioned  at  1  there 
followed  an  inunediate  rise  in  the  galvanometric  curve. 

strated,  that  deflections  of  the  delicate  galvanom- 
eter can  take  place  even  when  the  battery  is  not 
used.  Here  the  electrical  variations  under  the 
influence  of  the  emotions  seem  to  be  caused  by  a 
current  generated  in  the  body  itself.  These 
electrical  phenomena  associated  with  the  emo- 
tions have  been  called  the  psycho-physical  gal- 
vanic reflex,  or  more  simply,  the  psychogalvanic 
reaction. 

In  these  pulse  reaction  tests  and  in  the  psycho- 
galvanic reaction,  we  seem  to  have  methods  of 


TESTING  THE  EMOTIONS  71 

precision  in  investigating  and  measuring  the 
effects  of  the  emotions.  Whether  these  emo- 
tions are  present  in  consciousness,  but  sup- 
pressed, or  only  present  as  subconscious  emo- 
tional complexes,  the  electrical  and  pulse  effects 
are  the  same.  Both  methods  are  merely  more 
exact  modifications  of  the  association  tests  for 
the  detection  of  emotional  complexes.  In  these 
latter,  however,  the  reactions  are  inhibitions  or 
lengthenings  of  thought,  whereas  in  the  former 
the  phenomena  are  either  physiological  or  elec- 
trical. All  of  these  test  methods,  however,  are 
reactions  to  emotional  conditions  and  have  no 
relation  to  purely  intellectual  processes. 

The  pathological  effects  of  certain  emotions 
are  of  great  interest.  It  is  well  known  that  har- 
rowing experiences  may  lead  to  sudden  death 
and  that  emotional  effects  enter  largely  into  cer- 
tain individual  religious  conversions  or  by  a 
kind  of  mental  contagion  are  the  prime  factors 
in  religious  revivals.  The  rhythmic  character  of 
the  emotions  and  their  motor  accompaniments 
are  of  great  interest  in  all  revivals.  Frequently 
hysterical  phenomena  make  their  appearance, — 
trance,  stupor,  mutism,  blindness,  hallucinations, 
visions.  A  series  of  emotional  shocks  may  bring 
about  grave  nervous  disorders  such  as  neuras- 
thenia, hysteria,  association,  and  fear  neuroses, 
certain  hysterical  dissociations,  or  they  may  lead 


72     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

to  profound  changes  in  the  personahty,  as  in 
cases  of  extensive  general  amnesia  or  in  multiple 
personality. 

According  to  Fere,  an  emotion  may  be  con- 
sidered as  morbid  or  pathological  when  its 
physiological  accompaniments  take  place  with 
extraordinary  intensity,  when  the  emotion  is 
produced  without  a  sufficient  determining  cause, 
and  when  the  emotional  effects  are  unduly  pro- 
longed. Emotions  are  most  likely  to  lead  to 
pathological  phenomena  when  at  the  time  of  the 
emotion  a  state  of  exhaustion  or  fatigue  was 
present.  In  fact,  an  emotional  experience  is 
most  liable  to  recur  again  under  states  of 
fatigue. 

This  is  well  illustrated  in  the  evolution  of 
certain  fear  neuroses,  in  which  exhaustion,  pain, 
or  certain  suppressed  feelings  precede  the  first 
attack  of  fear,  which  then  becomes  automatically 
repeated  as  a  kind  of  an  unconscious  or  sub- 
conscious automatism.  Sometimes,  instead  of 
the  psychical  accompaniment,  the  physiological 
symptoms  of  the  original  emotion  persist  and 
are  repeated,  as  in  certain  cases  of  functional 
intestinal  disturbance  or  in  the  persistence  of  a 
rapid  heart  beat  without  any  organic  basis. 
Under  other  conditions  an  attack  of  a  previous 
organic  nervous  disease  may  be  induced  by  a 
severe  emotional  shock,  as  in  the  case  of  the 


TESTING  THE  EMOTIONS  73 

epileptic  attack  of  Othello.  After  the  harrow- 
ing experiences  of  a  railroad  accident,  the  sud- 
den shock  of  the  accident,  even  with  little  or 
no  physical  injury,  may  lead  to  distressing  types 
of  hysteria  and  neurasthenia,  from  which  the 
person  may  not  recover  for  months  or  years, 
even  without  litigation  or  even  after  the  claim 
for  damages  has  been  satisfactorily  arranged. 
These  form  the  large  class  of  cases  known  as 
the  traumatic  neuroses.  Here  it  is  the  psychical 
and  not  the  physical  shock  which  caused  the  dis- 
integration. 

Suppression  of  certain  memories  or  experi- 
ences having  a  strong  emotional  meaning  can 
lead  to  hysterical  symptoms,  such  as  paralysis, 
contractures,  convulsions,  or  even  changes  in  the 
mental  state  or  the  personality  of  the  individual. 
It  is  not  necessary  that  the  suppressed  or 
"  strangulated  emotions  "  remain  in  conscious- 
ness, for  under  certain  conditions  they  can  exer- 
cise their  pernicious  effect  even  if  they  are  sub- 
conscious by  a  process  termed  "  conversion  "  by 
Freud.  Sometimes  a  complete  confession  on 
the  part  of  the  subject  of  the  emotional  experi- 
ences which  he  is  volimtarily  suppressing  will 
have  a  profound  influence  in  relieving,  or  even 
curing,  the  abnormal  symptoms  which  seem  to 
be  dependent  on  this  suppression.  The  mechan- 
ism of  this  therapeutic  procedure,   as  will  be 


74  EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

later  pointed  out  in  more  detail,  is  due  to  the 
breaking  down  of  the  resistances  which  pre- 
vented the  unconscious  thoughts  or  emotions 
from  reaching  consciousness.  This  disintegratory 
effect  of  the  emotions  in  leading  to  certain 
pathological  phenomena  of  dissociation,  has 
been  shown  in  a  number  of  published  cases.  In 
Janet's  case  of  Mme.  D.  the  sudden  mental 
shock  of  the  false  news  of  her  husband's  death 
caused  almost  immediately  an  hysterical  attack 
with  delirium  and  convulsions,  which  lasted  sev- 
eral days.  At  the  end  of  this  time  it  was  found 
that  not  only  had  the  patient  forgotten  every- 
thing that  occurred  for  six  weeks  previous  to 
the  attack  (retrograde  amnesia),  but  continue^ 
to  forget  everything  as  fast  as  it  happened 
(continuous  amnesia).  In  the  chapter  on  mem- 
ory, however,  it  will  be  pointed  out  that,  in  this 
case,  the  memories  were  not  entirely  obliterated, 
but  were  simply  dissociated  from  her  conscious 
perception.  These  dissociated  experiences  could 
not  only  be  recalled  wh«fi  the  patient  was  hyp- 
notized but  also  appeared  in  dreams.  In  the 
case  of  Miss  Beauchamp,  the  genesis  of  the 
changes  in  the  personality  could  be  traced  to 
an  emotional  shock.  Furthermore,  in  the  case 
of  Mrs.  Y.,  who  developed  a  form  of  hysterical 
paralysis  with  four  distinct  hypnotic  personali- 
ties, it  was  possible  to  trace  the  origin  of  the 


TESTING  THE  EMOTIONS  75 

hysterical  condition  back  to  a  series  of  harrow- 
ing emotional  experiences.'  In  a  case  of  noc- 
turnal paralysis,  the  origin  of  the  condition  was 
the  emotional  shock  incident  to  the  sudden  death 
of  the  patient's  child.  Peculiar  functional  at- 
tacks simulating  epilepsy  may  also  recur  by  as- 
sociation with  the  emotional  experience  which 
caused  the  first  attack  of  convulsions.  In  other 
words,  the  emotions  can  so  act  as  to  lead  to  a 
splitting  of  consciousness  and  thus  cause  changes 
in  the  personality,  losses  of  memory,  psycho- 
epileptic  attacks,  and  certain  recurrent  states  of 
fear  (recurrent  psycho-motor  states).  Any 
emotional  complex  or  experience  which  has  be- 
come dormant  or  quiescent  can  be  thrown  into 
activity  again  through  association,  either  from 
within  or  without,  and  thus  lead  to  certain 
pathological  phenomena  (hysterical,  psycho- 
epileptic,  phobias,  obsessions).  These  various 
phenomena,  to  a  limited  degree,  have  also  their 
prototype  in  everyday  life.  The  fear  of  thun- 
der-storms, the  sense  of  nausea  that  occurs  in 
some  persons  at  the  sight  or  odor  of  certain 
foods,  as  for  instance,  strawberries  or  pepper- 
mint, the  sense  of  awe  that  overwhelms  others 
at  the  sight  of  the  sea,  the  feeling  of  disgust  for 
snakes,  worms,  or  crawling  things,  are  instances 
in  question.    Here  certain  dormant  experiences 

*  This  case  forms  the  subject  of  Part  II,  Chapter  IV. 


76    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

with  an  emotional  coloring  (fear,  nausea,  awe, 
disgust)  are  awakened  through  association, 
some  of  which  can  be  traced  back  to  a  for- 
gotten episode  in  childhood. 

In  contrast  with  this  disintegrating  effect  of 
painful  emotions,  the  integrating  or  curative  or 
rather  the  synthetic  effect  of  pleasurable  emo- 
tions and  confidence  is  a  well-known  fact  in 
psychology.  As  Bain  says,  "  States  of  pleasure 
are  concomitant  with  an  increase  and  states  of 
pain  with  an  abatement  of  some  or  all  of  the 
vital  functions."  This  psychological  mechanism 
is  of  great  value  in  certain  psychotherapeutic 
procedures,  such  as  the  successful  treatment  of 
certain  states  of  depression,  exhaustion,  and 
fear.  This  has  been  experimentally  proven  by 
some  studies  of  the  physiological  accompani- 
ments of  feeling.  Claparede  states  as  follows 
concerning  this  condition,  "  Each  one  of  us  can 
testify  that,  under  diverse  conditions,  confidence 
gives  strength,  it  is  dynamogenic.  A  neuropath 
is  most  often  a  being  who  mistrusts  himself, 
who  shrinks  and  inhibits  himself;  in  a  word,  one 
who  strains  his  reflexes  of  defence.  Confidence, 
which  is  the  antagonist  of  this  mental  defence, 
acts  in  relaxing  these  reflexes  of  defence;  at  the 
same  time  it  sets  free  the  energy  which  had  been 
stored  up,  potentialized  by  the  activity  of  de- 
fence.    This  available  energy,  this  energy  in  a 


TESTING  THE  EMOTIONS  77 

nascent  state,  can  then  be  usefully  employed  in 
the  physical  or  psychic  re-education  of  the  pa- 
tient." Here  we  have  a  biological  interpreta- 
tion of  the  doctrine  of  reserve  energy. 

The  practical  application  of  this  theory  was 
well  exemplified  in  the  synthesis  of  the  various 
personalities  of  Miss  Beauchamp  and  also  in 
the  following  personal  observations.  A  highly 
intelligent  woman,  under  the  stress  of  a  series  of 
harrowing  experiences,  which  she  was  compelled 
to  voluntarily  suppress  during  a  number  of 
years,  developed  a  gradual  change  in  her  per- 
sonality. Whereas  previously  she  had  been 
cheerful,  fond  of  company  and  travel,  and  inter- 
ested in  general  affairs,  she  became  moody,  de- 
pressed, and  seclusive,  easily  exhausted,  lost  her 
interest  in  things  in  general,  and  became  self- 
centred  and  abnormally  self-conscious.  The 
treatment  of  this  condition  consisted  in  the 
stimulation  of  pleasurable  emotions  and  of  a 
sense  of  elation  and  well-being,  which  after  a 
time  changed,  or  rather  synthetized  her,  back 
to  her  normal  self.  In  another  case,  one  of 
psychasthenia  with  a  marked  feeling  of  deper- 
sonalization, the  same  procedure  was  eminently 
successful.  This  patient  characterized  her  nor- 
mal self  as  a  "  solid  substance,  living,  growing," 
and  her  abnormal  self  as  a  "  bloodless  nothing — 
if  I  shut  my  eyes  I  do  not  think  or  feel,  as 


78    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

though  my  thoughts  went  through  me  without 
resistance."  Here  again  the  integrating,  syn- 
thetizing  effect  of  the  emotion  of  well-being  and 
joy  was  successful  in  effecting  a  cure. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  emotions  can  act  either 
for  good  or  evil.  They  may  be  reactions  of 
defence  or  have  painful  effect  in  certain 
pathological  mental  states.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  suppression  of  painful  emotional  experi- 
ences or  emotional  shocks,  either  singly  or  in 
series,  may  lead  to  certain  abnormal  phenom- 
ena in  the  mental  life  of  the  individual,  such 
as  changes  in  the  personality,  losses  of  memory, 
or  hysterical  manifestations.  On  the  body 
mechanism  itself  the  emotions  have  a  profound 
influence,  producing  changes  in  electrical  resist- 
ance, in  the  pulse  rate,  stimulation  or  inhibition 
of  glandular  secretion  or  of  the  motor  power  of 
the  gastro-intestinal  tract,  variations  in  the  res- 
piration and  in  the  tension  of  the  muscles. 
Recent  investigations  would  lead  us  to  believe 
that  these  multitudinous  psycho-physical  and 
psycho-physiological  phenomena  are  of  central 
and  not  peripheral  origin.  The  phenomena  of 
the  relation  of  certain  test  words  to  associations 
of  an  emotional  character  (the  association  tests) 
and  the  mechanism  of  the  inhibition  of  thought 
in  these  experiments,  are  of  such  importance 
that  their  discussion  will  be  left  for  another 


TESTING  THE  EMOTIONS  79 

chapter,  although  here  again  it  is  emotional 
states,  and  not  intellectual  conditions,  which 
determine  the  type  of  reaction. 

Wit  and  laughter  may  also  be  interpreted 
as  emotional  reactions  and  both  have  been  ex- 
tensively investigated  by  Bergson^  and  Freud.^ 
According  to  the  former  anything  which  breaks 
away  from  the  elasticity  of  living  beings  and 
becomes  stifP,  mechanical  and  stereotyped,  or  in 
other  words  becomes  a  caricature  of  life,  tends 
to  provoke  laughter.  Freud  bases  his  theory 
of  wit  upon  his  well-known  conceptions  of  the 
unconscious  and  finds  in  it  many  of  the  same 
mental  mechanisms  as  occur  in  dreams.  He 
divides  wit,  according  to  the  reactions  which  it 
produces,  into  purposeful,  or  that  which  shows 
a  definite  aim,  and  harmless,  or  that  in  which 
no  definite  aim  can  be  discovered.  Concerning 
the  mechanism  of  wit,  it  seems,  according  to 
Freud,  that  a  foreconscious  thought  is  left  for 
a  moment  unguarded  and  thus  becomes  the 
object  of  an  unconscious  elaboration.  Thus 
wit,  like  the  dream,  is  an  involuntary  mental 
occurrence  and  brevity  is  common  to  both  wit 
and  dreams.  In  fact,  "  brevity  is  the  soul  of 
wit."  This  brevity  is  due  to  a  process  of  con- 
densation and  from  this  condensation  mechan- 

»  Henri  Bergson,  "Le  Rire,"  1911. 

•  S.  Freud,  "  Der  Witr  und  sein  Beziehung  lom  Unbewussten." 


80  EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

ism,  arise  many  plays  on  words.  Wit  is  a 
social  product,  whose  aim  is  to  acquire  pleasure, 
and  in  wit  there  may  often  be  detected  an 
infantile  type  of  thinking.  An  interesting  con- 
firmation of  Freud's  theory  occurred  in  a  case 
of  automatic  laughter  which  I  had  occasion  to 
analyze.  Here  it  could  be  shown  that  an  un- 
conscious emotional  complex  expanded  and 
became  an  impulsive  motor  reaction  (laughter) 
which  for  the  time  being  dominated  the  field 
of  consciousness.  Thus  the  laughter  was  the 
result  of  an  unconscious  repression. 


CHAPTER  IV 

ANALYZING  THE  EMOTIONS 

The  association  of  ideas  or  the  linking  of 
ideas  in  consciousness  has  engaged  the  attention 
of  psychologists  from  the  days  of  the  Greek 
philosophers  up  to  the  present  time.  The  fact 
that  a  word  or  idea  should  immediately  suggest 
a  related  word  or  idea  is  one  of  the  peculiarities 
of  the  mechanism  of  thought,  and  on  this  pecu- 
liarity was  based  some  of  the  older  systems  of 
the  so-called  associationist  psychology.  For 
years,  however,  the  study  of  association  remained 
barren  of  practical  results,  but  with  the  advent 
of  precise  instruments  to  measure  the  reaction 
time,  with  the  investigations  of  the  physiology 
of  the  reflexes,  and  the  propagation  of  nerve 
impulses,  the  association  of  ideas  became  filled 
with  a  new  interest.  It  is  a  matter  of  common 
observation  that  it  is  easier  to  remember  rh5rmed 
poetry  than  blank  verse  or  prose,  and  this  is 
due  not  to  the  rhythm  but  in  a  great  part 
to  the  association  of  rhyme.  Many  of  the 
schemes    used    by    schoolboys    for    remember- 

81 


82      EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

ing  historical  dates  or  the  sequence  of  rulers 
or  presidents,  is  based  upon  the  law  of  asso- 
ciation. 

In  normal  individuals,  the  association  time  is 
usually  very  short,  but  measurements  of  this 
time  by  modern  electrical  instruments  have 
shown  that  it  is  not  instantaneous,  as  was  form- 
erly supposed.  It  takes  time  for  an  impulse 
to  travel  along  a  nerve  path  or  for  a  sensory 
impulse  from  the  eye  or  ear  to  reach  the  brain 
and  call  forth  a  related  impulse.  In  a  way,  the 
association  mechanism  resembles  certain  physio- 
logical reflexes.  It  is  only  when  instruments  of 
accuracy  are  used,  that  the  time  for  one  idea 
to  call  forth  a  related  idea  can  be  measured. 
Therefore,  before  the  advent  of  experimental 
psychology  and  physiology,  the  association  of 
ideas  was  looked  upon  as  a  more  or  less  mys- 
terious process,  a  function  of  a  kind  of  a  meta- 
physical consciousness.  Investigations  in  nor- 
mal individuals  and  in  certain  abnormal  mental 
states  have  shown,  however,  that  the  association 
mechanism  is  based  upon  well-defined  laws  of 
body  and  mind,  upon  brain  physiology  and  not 
upon  metaphysical  conceptions.  Association, 
therefore,  like  the  emotions,  can  be  best  ex- 
plained through  physiological  psychology.  We 
will  discuss  the  subject  from  this  standpoint 
alone,  giving  only  as  much  of  the  work  on  nor- 


ANALYZING  THE  EMOTIONS  83 

mal  associations  as  will  enable  the  reader  to 
understand  the  various  abnormal  associative 
processes. 

There  is  an  intimate  relationship  between  the 
psychology  and  physiology  of  the  brain.  There 
can  be  no  mental  process  without  a  previous 
brain  process.  Precise  measurements  have 
shown  that  it  takes  a  definite  and  appreciable 
length  of  time  for  nerve  energy  to  be  propa- 
gated, and  even  in  the  quickest  of  our  associa- 
tions there  is  an  interval  of  a  large  fraction 
of  a  second  between  one  idea  and  another. 
Habit  lessens  this  time  interval;  fatigue,  al- 
cohol, and  other  drugs,  and  the  presence  of 
an  emotional  meaning  connected  with  a  certain 
word  greatly  increase  this  interval.  This  last 
factor,  the  inhibition  or  slowing  of  thought 
through  emotional  factors,  is  of  great  value 
in  some  of  the  analyses  of  abnormal  psychol- 
ogy. To  this  factor,  however,  we  will  return 
later. 

Certain  bundles  of  nerve  fibres,  or  tracts  in 
the  brain,  seem  to  be  especially  concerned  with 
the  processes  of  association,  in  the  same  way  that 
certain  parts  of  the  brain  are  the  centres  for 
sight,  smell,  language,  etc.  Now  in  man  these 
so-called  association  areas  occupy  a  large  portion 
of  the  cerebral  hemispheres,  and  when  we  realize 
how  all  intellect  seems  based  on  association  and 


84      EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

associative  memory,  we  have  here  a  beautiful 
example  of  the  relation  of  function  to  structure. 
The  exact  localization  of  these  association  areas 
in  the  brain  has  recently  attracted  a  great  deal 
of  attention.  For  some  of  these  centres,  the 
evidence  is  certain;  for  others,  it  is  still  prob- 
lematical. After  we  eliminate  the  sensory  or 
motor  paths  of  the  brain,  and  the  centres  for 
language  and  special  senses,  there  still  remains 
a  large  portion  of  what  were  formerly  termed 
the  "  silent  areas."  Now  these  *'  silent  areas," 
in  the  light  of  recent  investigations,  possess  a 
function  of  great  importance  and  interest, 
namely,  association. 

In  the  development  of  the  nervous  system, 
the  nerve  tracts  of  the  brain  receive  their  cover- 
ing or  myelin  sheaths  (called  meduUation)  in 
different  order  and  sequence.  Those  nerve 
tracts  which  will  be  used  first  by  the  new-bom 
child,  first  become  medullated,  that  is  the  sen- 
sory fibres,  because  the  child  makes  use  of  its 
sensory  organs  before  it  uses  its  motor  organs. 
When  the  child  begins  to  walk,  then  the  motor 
paths  of  the  brain  become  medullated.  Last  of 
all,  the  association  areas  receive  their  myeUn 
sheaths,  because  these  subserve  the  highest  func- 
tions of  inteUigence, — language  and  memory. 
In  mental  diseases  associated  with  any  degree  of 
dementia  or  mental  weakness,  the  association^ 


ANALYZING  THE  EMOTIONS  85 

areas  are  nearly  always  found  in  a  condition 
of  degeneration. 

The  materials  of  thought  and  association  are 
largely  the  results  of  habit  and  training.  As- 
sociation is  due  to  the  manner  in  which  one 
elementary  brain  process  may  excite  another  ele- 
mentary brain  process,  which  has  taken  place  at 
a  previous  time.  So  we  see  that  the  processes  of 
association  are  brain  processes  and  its  physio- 
logical law  may  be  expressed  as  follows:  When 
two  elementary  brain  processes  have  been  active 
together  or  in  immediate  succession,  one  of  those, 
on  recurring,  tends  to  propagate  its  excitement 
into  the  other.  Normal  associations  are  due 
largely  to  the  habits  in  which  the  nervous  sys- 
tem has  become  "  set,"  as  it  were.  Associa- 
tions will  not  only  show  a  subject's  mental 
make-up  or  his  interests,  but  will  also  betray 
his  hidden  motives  and  desires  and  concealed 
facts  in  his  experiences.  Hence  the  value  of 
the  association  method  to  test  the  intellectual 
capability  of  the  subject  or  to  lay  bare  his 
innermost  feelings  and  secrets.  For  instance, 
let  us  take  the  word  "man."  To  this 
word  the  scientist  would  probably  associate 
the  word  "  vertebrate,"  the  physician,  the 
word  "  disease,"  the  minister,  the  word 
"  morahty." 

I  had  previously  pointed  out  that  the  repro- 


86      EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

duction  of  stimuli,  experiences,  or  reactions  is 
usually  in  the  same  order  in  which  they  are  re- 
ceived. This  psychological  mechanism  finds  its 
physiological  parallel  in  the  phenomena  of  chain 
or  sequence  reflexes.  According  to  Loeb  and 
Sherrington,  the  crawling  of  an  earthworm,  in 
which  the  threshold  of  each  succeeding  reflex 
is  lowered  by  the  excitation  just  preceding  its 
own,  is  a  chain  or  sequence  reflex  of  this  kind. 
Association  may  be  interpreted  in  part  as  a 
psychical  chain  reflex,  for  as  soon  as  one  ele- 
mentary brain  process  becomes  started,  it  stimu- 
lates the  next  succeeding  group,  so  that  each 
process  is  reproduced  in  the  order  in  which 
it  originally  occurred.  Memory  forms  the  high- 
est type  of  association.  In  fact,  all  memory, 
with  the  probable  exception  of  certain  scrappy 
automatisms  which  occur  in  some  cases  of 
functional  amnesia,  is  associative  memory.  It 
is  this  associative  memory  which  is  responsible 
for  the  higher  intellectual  processes  of  man, 
for  even  in  monkeys  and  the  higher  apes  the 
associations  are  of  a  very  elementary,  simple 
type. 

What,  then,  is  the  value  of  associations  in 
abnormal  psychology;  how  are  we  to  interpret 
the  findings,  and  how  are  the  tests  carried  out? 
It  would  lead  us  too  far  into  technicalities  to 
give  the  enormous  mass  of  literature  which  has 


ANALYZING  THE  EMOTIONS  87 

recently  been  called  forth  by  the  association  tests 
and  therefore  only  the  most  important  and  prac- 
tical points  will  be  briefly  discussed.  These 
technical  methods  have  shown  that  the  associa- 
tions cannot  only  reveal  the  normal  mental 
make-up  of  an  individual,  but  may  also  betray 
his  abnormal  mental  make-up  as  well.  In  other 
words,  the  interpretation  and  study  of  a  series 
of  words  used  for  the  association  tests  in  nor- 
mal individuals  apply  with  equal  force  when  we 
come  to  study  certain  diseases.  When  we  give 
a  subject  a  word  and  ask  him  to  reply  with  the 
first  idea  which  this  test  word  suggests,  it  will 
be  found  that  a  definite  time  elapses  between 
the  test  word  and  the  reaction.  This  time,  if 
measured  with  the  chronoscope  or  the  stop- 
watch, will  be  found  to  vary  from  the  fraction 
of  a  second  to  several  seconds.  This  could  not 
be  otherwise,  if  we  remember  the  complicated 
circuit  which  the  reaction  takes.  The  spoken 
word  is  first  heard  by  the  ear,  then  carried  to 
the  brain;  there  it  awakens  or  stimulates  previ- 
ously stored-up  brain  processes  which  are  re- 
lated to  this  word;  then  it  reaches  the  language 
centre  and  awakens  the  image  of  the  related 
word,  and  finally  it  is  spoken  by  the  subject. 
In  reaUty  the  circuit  and  the  brain  process  are 
far  more  complex  than  I  have  indicated.  In 
any  case  it  takes  time  for  the  impulses  to  travel 


88       EXPLORATION  OF  THE   SUBCONSCIOUS 

along  the  nerves  and  tracts  in  the  brain.  As 
will  be  shown  later,  certain  things  may  influence 
either  the  time,  or  the  reaction,  or  both ;  the  time 
may  be  normal,  or  shortened  or  lengthened,  the 
reaction  to  the  test  word  may  be  normal,  pecu- 
liar, or  entirely  lacking.  The  facts  which 
determine  any  abnormahty  in  association  are 
many. 

Let  us  make  the  experiment  somewhat  more 
comphcated,  as  it  is  usually  carried  out  in 
laboratories  and  in  clinical  investigations.  A 
series  of  fifty  to  one  hundred  words  is  read  off 
to  the  subject,  care  being  taken  that  the  words 
are  ordinary  and  indifferent.  In  most  cases,  the 
suggested  word  will  be  found  normal  and  the 
time  reaction  short.  But  supposing  in  the  midst 
of  this  list  we  insert  a  few  words  that  touch 
a  "  sore  spot,"  as  it  were ;  that  is,  words  relating 
to  certain  emotional  experiences  in  the  subject's 
life.  A  peculiar  thing  will  be  found  to  occur. 
Whereas  the  reaction  time  for  normal  words 
was  short,  in  the  words  having  an  emotional 
meaning  the  time  will  be  found  to  have  been 
considerably  lengthened.  A  retardation  or  in- 
hibition of  thought  has  taken  place,  if  we  wish 
to  speak  in  psychological  terms ;  or,  if  we  wish  to 
take  a  nomenclature  from  physiology,  we  say 
that  the  normal  path  of  association  has  become 
blocked.     What   causes   this   retardation,   this 


ANALYZING  THE  EMOTIONS  89 

blocking,  this  interference  with  a  normal  reac- 
tion, and  this  alteration  of  the  processes  of 
thought?  Evidently  the  test  word  has  stimu- 
lated a  dormant  group  of  ideas  or  complexes 
which  had  an  emotional  meaning,  and  it  is  this 
emotional  tone  which  has  delayed  the  process 
of  thought.  A  painful  idea  has  been  awakened 
by  the  test  word  and  the  subject's  eflForts  to 
suppress  the  painful  idea,  to  keep  it  in  the 
background  of  the  mind,  take  a  certain  length 
of  time.  Hence  the  delayed  time  between  the 
test  word  and  the  reaction  word.  While  the 
intellectual  status  may  determine  the  kind  or 
type  of  association,  yet  the  reaction  time  is  in- 
fluenced by  emotional  and  not  by  intellectual 
factors. 

Thus  a  response  to  a  test  word  may  show 
certain  peculiarities  called  "  complex  signs  "  and 
the  word  which  causes  this  disturbance  is  termed 
a  "  complex  indicator."  These  complex  signs 
are  as  follows — 

1.  Unusually  long  reaction  time. 

2.  Strange  reactions,  errors  or  no  reactions 
at  all. 

9.    Stereotyped  repetition  of  the  test  word. 

4.  Forgetfulness. 

5.  Persistence  of  disturbance  for  the  next 
or  following  association. 

6.  Surprise  at  the  stimulus  word. 


90     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

7.  Laughing  at  a  reaction.  (When  a  com- 
plex is  struck  the  subject  will  often  automati- 
cally laugh.) 

8.  Superficial  associations. 

The  method  is  often  valuable  in  the  prelimi- 
naries of  a  psycho-analysis,  in  giving  one  hints 
concerning  the  patient's  emotional  complex. 

Other  abnormal  phenomena  may  also  take 
place  in  the  association  mechanism,  such  as 
flight  of  ideas,  absence  of  reaction,  automatic 
repetition  of  test  words,  indifferent  reactions, 
etc.  It  would  lead  us  too  far  into  technicalities 
to  enter  into  all  these  finer  details,  and,  there- 
fore, we  will  limit  our  discussion,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, to  the  delayed  reaction  time.  The  asso- 
ciations are  influenced  by  the  type  of  complexes, 
that  is  whether  or  not  they  have  an  emotional 
coloring.  These  complexes  may  cause  an  in- 
hibition of  thought  and  so  delay  the  reaction; 
they  may  completely  arrest,  temporarily  at 
least,  the  normal  mental  activity  and  so  cause 
an  absence  of  reaction  to  the  test  word;  they 
may  cause  indifferent  reactions  or  finally  only 
sound  associations,  such  as  rhyming  and  flight 
of  ideas.  As  will  be  shown  later,  this  latter  is 
largely  dependent  upon  a  disorder  of  atten- 
tion. In  order  for  a  complex  to  produce  the 
retardation  of  thought  it  must  not  only  have 
an  emotional  coloring,  but  must  be  preserved  in 


ANALYZING  THE  EMOTIONS  91 

the  unconscious,  although  it  may  be*  dormant 
and  suppressed.  Subconscious  complexes  are 
incapable  of  causing  any  retardation  in  the 
association  tests,  although  if  identical  words  be 
used,  these  same  words  will  be  found  capable 
of  causing  electrical  reactions  and  modifications 
in  the  pulse  rate. 

The  use  of  the  association  method  has  thrown 
considerable  light  upon  the  delusions  and  hal- 
lucinations in  dementia  praecox  and  also  upon 
the  dream  life  in  both  this  disease  and  hysteria. 
When  a  test  word  strikes  a  particular  experience 
that  has  been  stored  up,  but  remains  dormant, 
immediately  an  abnormal  reaction  takes  place, 
either  retardation  or  refusal  to  co-operate  or  an 
indifferent  reaction  word. 

By  means  of  this  method  we  are  able  to 
prove  that  many  insane  ideas,  delusions,  hal- 
lucinations, and  dreams  take  their  origin  in 
previous  experiences,  which  were  preserved  in 
the  unconscious  as  dormant  complexes  or  mem- 
ories. Investigations  along  these  hues  by 
certain  German  investigators  (Jung,  Freud, 
Bleuler,  and  the  Zurich  school),  have  thrown 
an  immense  amount  of  light  upon  hysteria 
and  upon  the  psychogenesis  of  dementia 
praecox. 

The  results  and  the  value  of  the  association 
method    in    hysteria    are    given    in   a    psycho- 


92     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

analysis  of  a  case  of  hysteria.'  We  will,  there- 
fore, limit  ourselves  to  a  brief  discussion  of  a 
case  of  dementia  prsecox.  Dementia  precox  is 
a  mental  disease  which  usually  occurs  in  ado- 
lescence and  early  youth,  its  chief  characteristic 
being  that,  no  matter  what  may  be  the  character 
of  the  insane  ideas  or  the  abnormal  activity, 
there  is  a  termination  in  a  peculiar  and  char- 
acteristic mental  weakness.  This  mental  weak- 
ness is  primarily  of  the  nature  of  an  emotional 
deterioration  or  indifference,  rather  than  any 
intellectual  change.  It  is  only  within  recent 
years  that  the  disease  has  been  fully  recognized 
and  only  still  more  recently  has  the  psychology 
of  the  disease  found  a  fairly  satisfactory  ex- 
planation. The  psychological  interpretation  of 
dementia  prsecox  is  certainly  a  healthy  reaction 
from  the  vague  theories  of  auto-intoxication  and 
the  barren  results  of  pathological  anatomy. 
Examinations  of  the  brain  in  subjects  who 
have  died  from  this  disease,  have  yielded  noth- 
ing of  importance.  In  no  other  disease,  outside 
of  hysteria,  have  purely  psychological  investiga- 
tions yielded  data  of  so  much  importance.  In 
the  recent  work  of  Jung,''  an  attempt  is  made 
to  give  a  logical  explanation  of  the  behavior 
and  utterances  in  this  disease,  which  were  for- 

•  See  Chapter  IX:  "The  Analysis  of  the  Mental  Life." 
•C.  G.  Jung:  "The  Psychology  of  Dementia  Praecox,"  1909. 
(Translated  by  Peterson  and  Brill.) 


ANALYZING  THE  EMOTIONS  93 

merly  looked  upon  as  strange  and  at  random. 
In  dementia  preecox,  there  is  often  a  pecu- 
liar blocking  of  thought  and  a  dissociation  of 
the  inner  mechanism  of  will  and  action.  For 
instance,  in  one  case  of  dementia  praBcox  the 
subject  replied  to  all  the  association  test  words 
by  an  indifferent  "  I  don't  know,"  or  by  merely 
echoing  the  test  word.  He  later  explained  these 
reactions  by  stating  that  he  could  not  think  of 
anything.  It  has  also  been  shown  in  this  dis- 
ease that  it  is  the  experiences  of  the  subject  pre- 
served in  the  mind  as  unconscious  or  dormant 
memories  which  cause  the  various  hallucinations, 
delusions,  insane  ideas,  and  abnormal  activities. 
These  unconscious  residuals  have  a  distinct  emo- 
tional coloring,  and  hence,  when  the  association 
tests  are  used  for  analysis,  words  related  to  these 
complexes  cause  a  disorder  of  the  mechanism 
of  association.  This  disorder  may  be  either  re- 
tardation, or  mere  repetition  of  the  test  word, 
or  complete  refusal  to  co-operate,  all  of  which 
are  manifest  "  blockings  "  of  the  mechanism  of 
association.  Of  interest  in  dementia  prsecox 
is  the  instinctive  tendency  to  conceal  these  un- 
conscious complexes,  leading  to  stupor,  contrary 
actions  and  behavior  and  apparent  emotional 
indifference  and  apathy.  Thus  the  unconscious 
complexes,  in  dementia  prsecox,  the  same  as  in 
dreams  or  in  hysteria,  are  often  symbolically 


94     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

expressed.  As  Jung  expresses  it — "  Let  the 
dreamer  walk  about  and  act  like  one  awakened 
and  we  have  the  clinical  picture  of  dementia 
prsecox." 

The  evidence  seems  to  show  that  in  dementia 
prsecox  we  are  dealing  with  some  form  of  men- 
tal dissociation.  But  why  one  form  of  mental 
dissociation  should  cause  a  curable  hysteria 
and  the  other  an  incurable  dementia  prsecox, 
cannot  be  definitely  answered  at  present.  With- 
out entering  into  details,  it  might  be  briefly 
stated,  that  in  hysteria  the  emotions  are  merely 
suppressed  or  detached,  while  in  dementia 
prsecox  the  emotions  are  destroyed.  Hence,  on 
the  one  hand,  we  get  the  increased  emotionalism 
in  hysteria,  and  on  the  other  hand,  the  decreased 
or  even  absent  emotions  in  the  subject  of  de- 
mentia praecox.  Further  analysis  by  the  pulse, 
electrical,  and  association  tests,  seems  to  show, 
however,  that  in  dementia  praecox  the  emotional 
indifference  is  only  superficial  and  that  the 
emotions  may  be  subconsciously  active.  The 
subjects,  however,  pay  little  or  no  attention  to 
their  submerged  emotions,  while  in  hysteria,  the 
opposite  takes  place. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  study  a  series  of 
associations  in  a  case  of  dementia  praecox,  and 
to  show  how  the  various  phenomena  of  this 
particular  case  took  their  origin  in   the   sub- 


ANALYZING  THE  EMOTIONS  95 

ject's  previous  experiences.  These  experiences 
remained  conserved  as  dormant  unconscious 
complexes  or  memories.  It  was  these  memories 
that  caused  the  vivid  hallucinations  and  the 
fantastic  dream  states.  Words  relating  to  these 
unconscious  complexes  or  taken  directly  from 
them,  greatly  influenced  the  time  and  type  of 
the  associations.  The  retardation  in  many  of 
the  tests  was  due  to  the  words  relating  to  uncon- 
scious complexes,  which  had  a  strong  emotional 
coloring,  hence  the  blocking  of  thought  with  the 
consequent  slowness  of  reaction.  The  uncon- 
scious complexes  not  only  influenced  the  type 
and  formation  of  the  hallucinations  and  dreams, 
but  they  also  were  the  factors  in  causing  the 
inhibition  of  thought  as  shown  by  the  associa- 
tion tests.  Hence  the  complex  had  a  two- 
fold disturbing  action;  on  the  formation  of  the 
insane  ideas  and  on  the  retardation  of  thought 
as  shown  by  the  special  tests. 

The  patient  was  an  intelligent  young  woman, 
thirty  years  of  age.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
eight  she  went  on  a  pleasure  trip,  and  dur- 
ing her  travels,  she  consulted  three  palmists  who 
informed  her  that  while  on  this  trip  she  would 
meet  the  person  who  would  eventually  become 
her  husband,  although  there  would  be  consider- 
able trouble  and  delay.  To  a  certain  extent  this 
occupied  her  mind  and  worried  her,  and  while 


96     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

on  her  way  home  she  became  acquainted  with  a 
young  professional  man.  Shortly  afterward  she 
began  to  have  series  of  dreams,  such  as  the 
hearing  of  pistol  shots,  of  a  certain  person  wear- 
ing a  black  necktie,  at  another  time  of  a  police 
officer  about  to  arrest  her,  that  her  father  and 
mother  were  in  prison  for  some  terrible  crime. 
Later  other  dreams  followed,  such  as  being 
on  a  sinking  ship,  or  in  a  rowboat  alone  at 
night,  or  of  travelUng  interminable  distances  on 
a  railroad  train.  These  dreams  symbolized 
certain  things  to  the  patient;  the  dream  of  the 
black  necktie  meaning  that  the  professional  man 
had  committed  suicide,  the  sinking  ship  meant 
trouble,  the  rowboat  signified  her  destiny.  Fin- 
ally peculiar  words  that  she  had  been  unaccus- 
tomed to  using  would  suddenly  flash  into  her 
mind,  such  as  "  tripod,"  "  harlequin,"  "  suicide," 
"Jezebel,"  "ineffable  woe,"  "ineffable  joy," 
etc.  To  these  words  a  symbolic  meaning  was 
also  attached.  Finally  these  words  became  hal- 
lucinatory in  character  and  took  the  form  of 
voices,  and  the  patient  became  literally  bom- 
barded by  auditory  hallucinations.  In  the 
series  of  associations  which  follow  it  will  be 
noticed  that  long  reaction  times  coincide  with 
the  words  or  ideas  which  formed  either  the 
complexes,  the  hallucinatory  phenomena,  the 
dreams,  or  the  previous  experiences. 


ANALYZING  THE  EMOTIONS 


97 


Reaction 

Reaction 

Stimulus 

Reaction 

Time 

Stimulus 

Reaction       Time 

Word 

Word 

(Seconds) 

Word 

Word     (Seconds) 

Chair 

Frame 

4.8 

Affinity 

Like                     4.3 

Tripod 

Three 

2.2 

Ring 

Round                 2.8 

Glass 

Square 

2.8 

Book 

Vellum                 2.6 

Black 

Darkness 

4. 

Police 

Uniform              3.4 

House 

Home 

1.8 

Jezebel 

Wickedness          4.8 

Harlequin 

Fool 

6.4 

Dress 

Gown                    3.8 

Ship 

Ship 

4. 

Prison 

Bars                     8. 

Heart 

Red 

6.3 

Joy 

Happiness           3.8 

The  slowness  of  reaction  showed  that  the  emo- 
tions aroused  by  certain  test  words  were  blocked, 
could  not  find  a  normal  path  of  discharge. 
This  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  test  words 
aroused  painful  memories  in  the  experiences  of 
the  subject,  such  as  certain  incidents  in  her  Hfe, 
her  dreams,  and  her  hallucinations  and  delu- 
sions. For  instance  such  words  as  "  prison," 
"  black,"  or  "  ship  "  referred  to  the  dreams  and 
their  symbohc  interpretation;  "harlequin"  and 
"  Jezebel  "  referred  to  tlie  hallucinations.  In 
this  case  also,  the  same  test  words  caused  an 
increase  of  the  pulse  rate. 

In  certain  other  mental  diseases  the  associa- 
tion of  ideas  may  be  disturbed  along  different 
lines.  In  dementia,  the  associations  are  very 
narrow  and  may  be  applied  to  mere  mechanical 
repetitions  of  the  test  word.  In  experimental 
fatigue  and  hunger  and  after  the  ingestion  of 
even  moderate  doses  of  alcohol  the  associative 


98  EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

process  is  slowed.  The  most  marked  disturb- 
ance of  association  of  ideas  is  found  in  mania/ 
The  chief  characteristics  of  this  mental  disease 
are  extreme  restlessness  and  increased  activity, 
loquacity,  exaltation,  and  a  marked  disorder 
of  attention,  j^eading  to  rapid  comments  upon 
the  surroundings  and  upon  any  new  sense  im- 
pressions. The  disturbance  of  association  in 
mania  is  expressed  by  the  term  flight  of  ideas. 
Its  chief  characteristics  are  jumping  from  one 
idea  to  another,  usually  by  means  of  rhyming 
or  sound  associations,  or  in  extreme  cases,  there 
may  be  an  actual  incoherence  of  ideas.  It  is 
not  the  apparent  increased  rapidity  of  associa- 
tion that  leads  to  flight  of  ideas,  because  no 
matter  how  rapid  may  be  the  association  time, 
it  still  may  be  rational.  The  flight  of  ideas 
is  really  due  to  a  disorder  of  attention.  When 
a  normal  person  passes  from  one  group  of 
ideas  to  another,  the  tendency  is  to  remain  at- 
tentive to  the  first  group,  to  keep  the  ideas  in 
the  foreground  of  the  mind,  and  not  allow  the 
attention  to  be  distracted  by  external  occur- 
rences. In  mania,  however,  just  the  opposite 
takes  place.  Here  attention  is  lacking  or  much 
diminished,  it  dwells  for  a  short  time  only  on 
one  idea,  the  subject  is  extremely  fickle,  dis- 

*The  term  mania  is  used  as  expressing  Uie  exalted  phase  of 
the  periodic  mental  disease  known  as  manic-depressive  insanity. 


i 


ANALYZING  THE  EMOTIONS  99 

tracted  by  outward  sense  impressions,  and  turns 
to  anything  new  with  great  avidity.  Hence 
the  jumping  from  one  idea  to  another. 

For  instance,  a  maniacal  patient  was  given 
the  word  "  hot "  as  an  association  test  word. 
Now,  in  a  normal  individual,  the  reaction  word 
would  probably  be  "  cold  "  or  "  weather,"  but 
here  it  would  stop.  But  observe  this  patient's 
string  of  associations.  To  the  word  "  hot "  he 
responded  as  follows — "  Weather,  not  cold,  hot 
beans,  hot  times  in  war,  heat  ironing,  that's 
what  women  do,  if  more  wood  is  wanted,  fill 
the  wood-box."  Another  maniacal  patient  was 
given  the  word  "  spider."  Here  rhyming  as- 
sociations took  place,  "  Ida,  rider,  spider,  spy 
I,  who  do  you  spy,  through  my  little  eye." 

Recently  the  application  of  the  association 
tests  for  the  determination  of  concealed  facts 
in  crime  has  attracted  a  great  deal  of  attention. 
For  this  purpose  the  hst  of  ordinary  test  words 
is  loaded  with  special  words  pointing  to  the  trend 
of  suspicion.  In  reaction  to  these  special  words, 
there  results  either  a  refusal  to  co-operate,  or  a 
lengthening  of  the  reaction  time.  The  method 
is  very  promising  of  practical  results,  but  only 
by  the  accumulation  of  further  data  in  the 
future  can  we  determine  if  we  have  here  an 
infallible  device  to  probe  into  hidden  memories. 
If  so,  the  psychological  inquisition  of  the  future 


100    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

will  not  consist  of  threats,  tortures,  and  the 
rack,  nor  of  the  equally  painful  so-called  "  third 
degree,"  but  the  criminal  will  be  brought  face 
to  face  with  the  scientific  psychologist.  It  has 
already  been  pointed  out  how  words  having  an 
emotional  meaning  may  slow  the  reaction  time. 
Now  this  retardation  may  take  place  either 
because  the  words  had  something  to  do  with  the 
crime,  or  because  the  subject  was  afraid  that  the 
associated  word  which  first  came  to  his  mind 
would  betray  him  and,  therefore,  he  makes  an 
attempt  to  substitute  a  less  dangerous  word. 
But  either  of  these  mental  processes,  either 
substitution  or  the  emotional  reaction  of  a  bad 
conscience,  would  cause  a  slowness  in  answering, 
and  this  retardation  can  easily  be  measured, 
either  with  a  chronoscope  or,  what  is  just  as 
accurate  for  all  practical  purposes,  a  stop- 
watch. Innocent,  indifferent  words  would  be 
given  very  quickly,  as  the  subject  would  feel 
that  he  need  not  be  on  his  guard,  having  nothing 
to  conceal.  Sometimes,  on  a  suspicious  word, 
the  reaction  may  be  an  indifferent  association, 
if  the  subject  is  clever,  but  the  suppressed 
memory  would  linger  in  consciousness  and  be- 
tray itself  in  the  following  association.  Also 
when  suspicious  words  are  used,  the  association 
suggested  by  this  word  will  occasionally  un- 
mask the  subject. 


ANALYZING  THE  EMOTIONS  101 

The  following  is  an  example  in  a  case  of 
juvenile  delinquency  which  came  under  per- 
sonal observation.^  Only  the  most  striking 
reactions  will  be  given.  The  patient,  a  girl  of 
seventeen  years  of  age,  for  several  years  had 
been  cross  and  stubborn,  and  would  frequently 
remain  away  from  home.  There  was  also  some 
suspicion  of  certain  irregularities,  of  disorderly 
conduct,  and  of  frequenting  cheap  vaudeville 
entertainments.  All  this  was  absolutely  denied 
by  the  patient.  Owing  to  the  manifest  untruth 
and  lack  of  sincerity  in  the  patient's  attitude, 
an  attempt  was  made  to  get  at  the  concealed 
facts  in  the  case  by  means  of  the  association 
tests. 


Reacti(yn  Time 

Test  Word 

Reaction  Word 

(in  seconds) 

Dark 

Night 

1. 

Square 

Four  comers 

3. 

Hard 

Not  bent 

3. 

Drink 

Water 

1. 

Bad 

Unconscious 

4. 

Lie 

Hasty 

9.4 

Street 

Walking 

6.4 

Sea 

Water 

0.4 

Untruth 

Spoken  in  haste 

9.4 

Bed 

Sleep 

9.4 

Deceit 

To  speak  against 

14.6 

Vaudeville 

Gayety 

13.6 

Conduct 

Don't  Imow 

16.4 

Sweet 

Candy 

1.4 

*  "  The  Mental  Condition  of  Juvenile  Delinquents,"  Psychologicai 
Clinic,  Vol.  I,  No.  5,  October  15,  1907. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


I  A  XTT  A     rt  k  nrt  X  r\  A     »-.^^» 


102    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

The  lengthened  reaction  time  to  such  test 
words  as  "  lie,"  "  street,"  "  untruth,"  "  deceit," 
"  vaudeville,"  the  refusal  to  co-operate  when 
the  word  "  conduct "  was  used,  and  the  peculiar 
reaction  of  the  word  "  walking "  to  the  test 
word  "  street,"  or  of  the  word  "  gayety "  to 
"vaudeville,"  pointed  strongly  to  purposely 
concealed  facts.  When  the  patient  was  directly 
accused  of  these  matters,  she  broke  down  and 
confessed  that  she  had  been  telling  an  untruth. 


CHAPTER  V 

SLEEP 

Sleep  has  been  called  a  mystery,  and  it  is  a 
mystery  well-nigh  inscrutable.  The  very  multi- 
pUcity  of  the  theories  on  sleep  shows  how  in- 
adequate they  are  to  explain  the  phenomenon, 
which  from  the  earhest  dawn  of  history  has 
puzzled  savage  and  scientist  ahke.  To  primi- 
tive man  or  to  the  uneducated  savage,  there  was 
something  uncanny  in  this  "  darkness  and  light 
that  divided  the  course  of  time."  The  outward 
resemblance  of  sleep  to  death  only  served  to 
increase  the  mystery. 

The  modern  scientist  has  approached  but 
little  nearer  to  the  final  solution  of  the  problem. 
Many  theories  have  been  proposed  to  explain 
sleep,  from  the  earlier  ideas  that  sleep  is  due 
to  a  lack  of  blood  in  the  brain  to  the  more  recent 
biological  and  physiological  conceptions.  Each 
theory  has  its  enthusiastic  advocates  and  each 
can  cite  apparently  unanswerable  facts  as  a 
positive  proof.  In  sleep,  we  seem  to  be  dealing 
with  definite  alterations  of  the  personahty,  but 
just  how  the  waking  personality  falls  into  the 

108 


104     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

state  we  call  sleep  and  how  this  latter  again 
changes  to  the  waking  personality,  is  the  great 
enigma.  Yet  this  cycle  occurs  in  one  form  or 
another  throughout  almost  the  entire  organized 
world. 

As  a  preliminary,  it  will  be  of  interest  to 
briefly  pass  in  review  the  various  theories  that 
have  been  propounded  to  explain  sleep.  These 
theories  fall  naturally  into  five  groups,  namely 
physiological,  histological,  chemical,  psychologi- 
cal, and  biological.  The  pathological  theories 
of  sleep  belong  to  a  separate  category  and  com- 
prise only  the  abnormal  sleep  states  as  manifes- 
tations of  certain  diseases  of  the  nervous  system, 
such  as  hysteria,  epilepsy,  somnambulism,  nar- 
colepsy, and  the  African  sleeping-sickness.  How- 
ever, it  is  the  more  recent  biological  and  physio- 
logical conceptions  which  have,  in  a  measure, 
cleared  the  way  for  a  fairly  satisfactory,  if  not 
a  final  solution.  Any  theory  of  sleep  must  be 
based  upon  sound  physiological  data,  because 
sleep  is  a  physiological  phenomenon  occurring 
in  everyday  life  and  not  the  manifestation  of  a 
disease  process.  Sleep  is  a  function  of  living 
matter,  and  is  necessary  for  all  living  beings, 
at  least  for  those  organisms  which  possess  a 
central  nervous  system.  The  periods  of  immo- 
bility and  rest  which  are  observed  in  the  lower 
organisms  are  probably  conditions  strongly  al- 


SLEEP  105 

lied  to  sleep  and  out  of  which  sleep  phylogeneti- 
cally  arose.  It  is  to  the  nervous  system,  how- 
ever, particularly  the  brain,  that  attention  must 
be  directed  in  any  attempt  to  solve  the  problem 
of  sleep. 

Physiological  Theories  of  Sleep 

Sleep  is  due  to  changes  in  the  cerebral  cir- 
dation.  A  lack  of  blood  in  the  brain  causes 
what  is  known  as  cerebral  anaemia.  This  cere- 
bral anaemia  may  be  due  to  a  dilatation  of  the 
blood-vessels  of  the  skin,  which  causes  a  fall 
of  blood  pressure  in  the  brain.  Sleep  naturally 
results,  in  the  same  way  that  a  lack  of  blood  in 
the  brain  causes  that  transitory  loss  of  con- 
sciousness known  as  fainting. 

According  to  these  circulatory  theories  of 
sleep,  cerebral  congestion,  or  an  increased 
amount  of  blood  in  the  brain,  produces  insomnia. 
Observations  on  exposed  brains  after  the  skull 
has  been  trephined  for  injuries,  seem  to  bear  out 
these  circulatory  theories  on  sleep.  Mosso's  fa- 
mous observations  in  cases  of  this  type,  showed 
a  cerebral  anaemia  during  sleep.  Yet  strong 
pressure  on  the  carotid  arteries  in  the  neck,  for 
a  short  time,  thus  interfering  with  the  passage 
of  blood  to  the  brain,  causes  a  state  of  con- 
sciousness  analogous   to   fainting,   rather   than 


106    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

genuine  sleep.  Tarchanoff  showed  that  in  pup- 
pies the  brain  becomes  pale  when  the  animals 
are  asleep  and  that  at  the  same  time,  it  reacts 
less  readily  to  electrical  stimulation.  Salmon 
has  recently  formulated  an  ingenious  though 
unsatisfactory  theory  of  sleep,  based  upon  the 
functions  of  the  pituitary  body,  a  secretory 
gland  which  lies  at  the  base  of  the  brain.  He 
points  out  the  very  marked  relation  between 
somnolence  and  pituitary  tumors  and  therefore 
claims  that  sleep  is  due  to  a  hypersecretion  of 
the  pituitary  body  and  insomnia  to  a  diminished 
secretion.  There  exists  an  analogy  between  the 
winter  sleep  of  animals  and  our  daily  sleep,  as 
this  winter  sleep  is  also  due  to  the  diminished 
secretory  activity  of  the  tissues.  » 

Histological  Theories  of  Sleep 

These  are  the  theories  which  explain  sleep  as 
being  produced  by  certain  movements  which  the 
nerve  cell  prolongations  are  supposed  to  pos- 
sess. These  prolongations  are  technically 
known  as  the  dendrites.  All  nerve  cells  possess 
dendrites  which  touch  each  other  and  by  means 
of  which  nerve  currents  are  supposed  to  be 
transmitted  from  one  cell  to  another.  Accord- 
ing to  this  theory  these  nerve  currents  are 
necessary  for  consciousness  and  when  there  is 


SLEEP  107 

any  break  in  these  currents,  that  is,  when 
the  dendrites  spontaneously  grow  shorter,  so 
that  they  no  longer  come  into  contact  with  one 
another,  sleep  results.  The  theory  is  a  fascinat- 
ing one  and  it  has  also  been  utilized  to  explain 
the  mechanism  of  certain  dissociations  of  con- 
sciousness, such  as  dreams,  hysteria,  and  hyp- 
nosis. 

Chemical  Theories  of  Sleep 

Even  modem  physiological  chemistry  has 
tried  its  hand  in  the  interpretation  of  such  a 
purely  psychological  mechanism  as  sleep.  It 
supposes  that  poisons  are  elaborated  during  the 
day,  as  the  result  of  muscular  and  nerve  activity, 
that  these  poisons  are  narcotic  (sleep  produc- 
ing) in  action  and  when  they  reach  a  certain 
amount,  drowsiness,  and  then  sleep,  results. 
These  poisons  have  a  direct  action  upon  the 
central  nervous  system,  particularly  the  brain. 
In  sleep,  the  poisons  are  no  longer  formed  be- 
cause in  this  condition  there  is  a  minimum  of 
nerve  and  muscle  activity.  These  toxic  sub- 
stances are  eliminated  during  the  night  and 
when  elimination  is  nearly  complete,  awaken- 
ing results.  This  cycle  of  self -poisoning  of  the 
nervous  system  is  repeated  day  after  day.  It 
is  really  a  kind  of  auto-intoxication.  A  modi- 
fication of  this  theory  states  that  sleep  is  pro- 


108    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

duced  by  a  lack  of  oxygen  in  the  brain.  An 
excess  of  carbonic  gas  is,  therefore,  formed  and 
the  somnolent  effect  of  this  gas  is  a  fact  well 
attested  by  experience,  such  as  occurs  in  im- 
properly ventilated  and  crowded  rooms. 

Psychological  Theories  of  Sleep 

Sleep  is  an  inhibition,  a  resting  state  of  con- 
sciousness. Mental  activity  or  consciousness  is 
dependent  upon  peripheral  incoming  stimuli, 
and  when  these  are  absent,  a  lowering  of  men- 
tal activity  follows  and  sleep  results.  Accord- 
ing to  this  theory,  if  all  peripheral  stimuli  are 
cut  out,  sleep  will  naturally  follow.  When  we 
attempt  to  sleep,  we  voluntarily  cut  off  all  dis- 
tracting external  stimuli;  we  darken  the  room, 
lie  quietly,  stop  all  muscular  activity,  close  the 
eyes,  etc.  In  favor  of  this  hypothesis  are  the 
observations  on  human  subjects  who  have  a 
general  cutaneous  anaesthesia  and  who  fall 
asleep  when  sounds  are  excluded  and  the  eyes 
are  closed.  Striimpell,  for  instance,  reports  the 
case  of  a  sixteen-year-old  subject  with  total 
anaesthesia  of  the  skin  to  all  stimuli,  an  absence 
of  the  muscular  sense  and  of  fatigue,  no  sense 
of  taste  or  smell,  blindness  of  the  left  eye  and 
deafness  of  the  right  ear.  If  in  this  subject 
the  right  eye  was  bound  and  the  left  ear  stopped, 
the  brain  was  deprived  of  all  stimuli  from  the 


SLEEP  109 

external  world  and  after  a  few  minutes,  the 
subject  fell  tightly  asleep.  Heubel  showed,  in 
experiments  which  were  performed  on  animals, 
principally  frogs  and  birds,  that  mental  activity 
was  dependent  in  great  part  on  incoming  periph- 
eral sensory  stimuli;  when  these  were  absent, 
the  intensity  of  consciousness  tended  to  diminish 
and  sleep  resulted.  He  states  for  instance: — 
"  If  the  external  causes  of  excitation  are  com- 
pletely and  permanently  withdrawn,  there  ap- 
pear, especially  in  birds,  unmistakable  signs  of 
sleep.  Their  eyes  become  tightly  and  continu- 
ously closed,  the  respiration  becomes  regular, 
often  surprisingly  slow  and  the  muscles  relax.'* 

Biological  Theories  of  Sleep 

The  interpretation  of  sleep  as  one  of  the 
essential  life  phenomena  is  the  basis  of  the  bi- 
ological conceptions  as  elaborated  by  Claparede, 
Sidis,  and  Coriat.  In  fact,  Claparede  inter- 
prets many  abnormal  psychic  conditions  from  a 
purely  biological  standpoint.  His  biological 
theory  of  sleep  has  attracted  considerable  atten- 
tion.^ According  to  him,  sleep  is  not  due  to 
fatigue  because  fatigue  frequently  produces 
insomnia.  Sleep  is  a  negative  state,  a  cessation 
of  all  activity.     It  is  a  reaction  of  defence  to 

*  E.  Claparede:  "  Enquisse  d'une  Thdorie  Biologique  du  Som- 
meil." — Archives  de  Psychologie,  Vol.  IV. 


no  EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

protect  the  organism  against  fatigue,  rather 
than  a  psychological  process,  the  result  of 
fatigue.  It  is  an  instinct;  we  sleep  not  because 
our  nervous  system  is  poisoned  or  exhausted, 
but  because  there  is  an  inhibition  of  attention 
for  the  present  situation,  really  the  active  devel- 
opment of  disinterest.  In  fact,  we  tend  to  be- 
come drowsy  and  fall  asleep  when  we  become 
disinterested.  He  asks  the  very  pertinent  ques- 
tion— At  what  step  in  evolution  did  sleep  first 
appear?  and  in  reply  he  states,  "  Sleep  did  not 
necessarily  exist  at  all  times;  it  is,  in  fact,  a 
contingent  phenomenon,  and  is  not  implied  in 
the  conception  of  life ;  the  lower  forms  of  animal 
life,  microbes  and  infusoria,  do  not  manifest 
any  sleep.  If  sleep  has  developed,  it  is  prob- 
ably due  to  the  fact  that  those  animals  whose 
activity  was  broken  by  periods  of  repose  or  of 
immobility  have  been  favored  in  the  struggle 
for  existence,  for  they  have  been  enabled,  thanks 
to  the  accumulation  of  energy,  during  these 
periods  of  immobility,  to  manifest  in  conse- 
quence a  more  intense  activity.  As  to  these 
periods  of  immobility,  they  are  themselves  de- 
rived from  the  function  of  inhibition  of  defence, 
which  plays  such  a  great  role  in  the  animal 
kingdom  (simulation  of  death)." 

According  to  Tromner,  sleep  is  not  depend- 
ent upon  fatigue  and  he  asserts  that  sleep  and 


SLEEP  111 

hypnosis  have  much  in  common.  Sleep  is  an 
active  process  of  instinctive  inhibition  and  he 
assumes  on  various  theoretical  grounds  that  the 
optic  thalamus  is  the  seat  of  this  instinctive  ac- 
tion. That  there  is  no  relation  between  fatigue 
and  sleep  is  shown,  in  that  infants,  who  are 
least  liable  to  fatigue,  sleep  the  greater  part  of 
the  time.  Boris  Sidis  ^  interprets  sleep  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  threshold  of  cell  energy. 
These  investigations  showed  that  sleep  is  due  in 
the  main  to  the  cutting  out  of  all  peripheral 
stimuli.  Relaxation  and  not  fixation  of  atten- 
tion is  necessary  for  sleep,  for  this  latter  fre- 
quently produces  insomnia.  Suggestibility  is 
absent  in  the  sleep  state.  Three  essentials  are 
necessary  for  the  production  of  sleep,  namely 
monotony  of  sensory  impressions,  limitation  of 
voluntary  movements,  and  inhibition.  Of  these 
three,  the  monotony  of  sensory  impressions  is 
the  most  important  factor.  In  going  to  sleep, 
there  is  always  an  intermediary  subwaking  or 
hypnoidal  state.  This  subwaking  state  is  pres- 
ent, not  only  in  man,  but  in  the  lower  animals, 
such  as  dogs  and  kittens.  Like  Claparede,  Sidis 
also  considers  sleep  from  the  evolutionary  stand- 
point. Sleep,  therefore,  biologically  considered, 
is  a  reaction  of  protoplasm.     It  is  as  much  an 

'Boris   Sidis:   "An   Experimental   Study  of   Sleep." — Jowmal 
Abnormal  Psychology,  VoL  III,  No.  1-3,  1908. 


112     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

instinct  as  sex  or  hunger.  Sleep  is  normal, 
psychological,  not  an  evidence  of  the  pathologi- 
cal, the  diseased.  Sleeping  and  waking  are 
merely  different  manifestations  of  normal  life- 
processes.  When  the  organism  becomes  fa- 
tigued as  the  result  of  continued  stimulation, 
those  stimuli  which  have  exhausted  themselves 
or  ceased  to  act  on  the  organism  by  reason  of 
their  monotony,  drop  out  and  are  replaced  by 
new  ones,  until  the  whole  round  of  stimuli  has 
been  gone  through.  Then  the  organism  ceases 
to  respond  to  the  stimuli  and  falls  asleep.  Or- 
ganisms, therefore,  fall  asleep  when  the  thresh- 
old for  stimulation  rises,  and  waken  when  the 
threshold  falls. 

Neither  monotony  of  sensory  impressions  nor 
limitation  of  voluntary  movements  is  necessary 
for  sleep.  Sleep  likewise  does  not  result  from 
a  fatigue  of  the  organism  by  continued  stimula- 
tion, but  only  if  the  actual  stimulus  be  de- 
creased, either  to  zero  or  to  the  threshold  of 
conscious  perception.  The  motionless  states 
produced  in  animals  by  sudden  peripheral  ex- 
citations are  not  sleep,  but  a  form  of  hypnosis. 
If  a  stimulus  is  present,  but  just  falls  short  of 
producing  a  sensation,  then  for  the  organism  it 
is  just  as  if  no  stimulus  existed  at  all.  It  has 
been  shown  beyond  a  doubt,  however,  that  sleep 
takes  place  when  the  peripheral  sensations  are 


SLEEP  lis 

cut  off  or  greatly  diminished.  Now  it  is  well 
known,  that  the  activity  of  consciousness  is 
maintained  by  these  sensations,  which  pour  in 
from  the  eyes,  ears,  muscles,  and  the  afferent 
nerves  of  the  skin.  When  these  are  cut  off  or 
reduced  to  a  minimum,  sleep  results.  The 
nervous  system  receives  the  active  energies  sup- 
plied to  it  by  stimuli  of  all  kinds  and  is  merely 
a  conduction  path  connecting  peripheral  organs 
with  the  center, — a  receptive  surface  with  an 
afferent  organ  in  combination.  The  greatest 
mass  of  stimuli  pouring  into  the  brain  comes 
from  the  muscles  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  a 
diminution  of  muscle  tonus  (or  tension)  either 
accompanies  or  precedes  the  onset  of  sleep. 
Thus  the  problem  of  sleep  becomes  essentially  a 
psycho-biological  problem  and  seemed  so  prom- 
ising that  I  investigated  the  function  of  sleep 
from  this  standpoint,^ 

My  experiments  were  performed  on  animals 
and  also  on  a  series  of  human  subjects,  in  whom 
I  could  check  my  procedures  and  thus  have  the 
advantage  of  introspective  evidence,  a  thing 
manifestly  impossible  in  animals.  The  animal 
experiments  on  crayfish,  frogs,  and  guinea  pigs 
were  undertaken  merely  to  establish  the  nature 

*  Isador  H.  Coriat,  '"Hie  Nature  of  Sleep." — Journal  Abnormal 
Psychology.  Vol.  5,  1912. 

"  The  Evolution  of  Sleep  and  Hypnosis."— J6id,  VII,  2.     1919. 


114.  EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

of  motionless  states  in  animals,  in  order  to  de- 
termine whether  these  were  genuine  sleep,  hyp- 
nosis, or  states  of  cerebral  inhibition.  Thus  I  was 
able  to  trace  the  mechanism  of  sleep  from  animals 
with  a  primitive  nervous  system,  up  to  man. 

When  a  crayfish,  frog,  or  guinea  pig  was 
thrown  suddenly  on  its  back  and  held  in  a  firm 
position  for  a  few  minutes,  it  would  remain 
motionless  even  in  a  strained  and  uncomfortable 
attitude  for  a  prolonged  period  of  time  after 
the  experimenter's  hold  had  been  released.  The 
entire  body  would  be  immobile,  the  limbs  rigid, 
eyes  widely  opened,  and  the  reflexes  exagger- 
ated. The  animal  would  not  move  on  external 
stimulation,  such  as  jarring  of  the  table  or  the 
flashing  of  an  electric  light  in  the  widely  opened 
eyes.  In  other  words  the  animals  were  cata- 
leptic, resembling  deeply  hypnotized  human 
beings.  There  were  no  signs  of  genuine  sleep; 
that  is,  relaxation  of  the  limbs,  closure  of  the 
eyes,  and  slow,  regular  respiration  were  absent. 
Thus,  the  interpretation  of  these  motionless 
states  in  animals,  as  sleep,  as  had  been  done  by 
other  observers,  was  shown  to  be  without  suffi- 
cient foundation. 

Experiments  on  human  subjects  demon- 
strated that  they  fell  asleep  after  listening  for 
prolonged  periods  to  monotonous  auditory 
stimuli,  but  only  if  there  was  a  concomitant 


SLEEP  115 

state  of  muscular  relaxation.  That  this  sleep 
was  genuine  and  not  allied  to  hypnosis,  was 
demonstrated  by  the  fact,  that  some  of  these 
subjects  were  able  to  relate  short  dreams  on 
awakening.  Subjects  also  fell  asleep  without 
listening  to  monotonous  stimuli  if  muscular  re- 
laxation could  be  induced.  Muscular  tension, 
Jiowever,  even  of  one  limb,  under  like  conditions 
of  listening  to  monotonous  stimuli,  entirely  in- 
hibited sleep. 

It  was  possible  to  measure  the  degree  of  mus- 
cular relaxation  by  a  modification  of  an  instru- 
ment called  the  capillary  electrometer,  both  on 
subjects  in  whom  sleep  was  experimentally 
produced  and  in  already  sleeping  subjects  after 
they  had  retired  for  the  night.  It  was  definitely 
shown  by  means  of  this  instrument,  that  sleep 
and  muscular  relaxation  were  parallel  phenom- 
ena, viz.,  in  subjects  gradually  falling  asleep, 
the  muscular  relaxation  gradually  diminished, 
while  in  subjects  deeply  asleep,  the  state  of 
muscular  relaxation  was  reduced  to  zero.  With 
hypnotized  subjects,  however,  the  instrument 
showed  no  variation  in  muscular  tension,  the 
same  as  in  the  artificially  produced  motionless 
states  in  animals. 

Analyzing  my  series  of  experiments,  it  was 
found  that  listening  to  a  monotonous  sound 
stimulus  tended  to  produce  a  drowsy  state  and 


116     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

finally  sleep.  Sleep  also  took  place  when  the 
element  of  monotony  was  not  used,  thus  demon- 
strating that  this  factor  was  unnecessary  for 
the  production  of  sleep.  A  limitation  of  vol- 
untary movements  may  thus  produce  sleep,  hut 
this  limitation  must  be  of  the  nature  of  a  mus- 
cular relaxation  and  not  a  muscular  tension. 
Further  experiments  with  electrical  currents 
demonstrated  that  sleep  failed  to  result  so  long 
as  the  stimulus  was  felt.  Only  when  the  cur- 
rent was  reduced  to  zero  or  when  the  lowest 
threshold  of  perception  was  reached,  which  for 
the  subject  was  the  same  as  zero,  did  sleep  take 
place.  Thus  sleep  was  a  reaction  to  stimuli  and 
when,  in  conditions  of  muscular  relaxation, 
stimuli  ceased  to  pour  into  the  brain  and  keep 
it  active,  sleep  resulted. 

The  dependence  of  sleep  on  muscular  tonus 
is  shown  by  the  fact  that  when  we  "  fight  '* 
against  drowsiness  we  do  so  by  voluntarily 
placing  our  muscles  in  a  state  of  tension. 
When  we  allow  ourselves  to  relax,  sleep  re- 
sults. Sometimes  great  fatigue  tends  to  keep 
one  awake,  because  the  fatigue  symptoms  are 
localized  in  the  muscles.  Sleep  is  an  instinct, 
an  inhibition  of  muscular  tension.  Monotonous 
stimuli  keep  us  awake  by  pouring  themselves 
into  the  brain  and  keeping  it  active,  and  sleep 
can  only  take  place  if  these  stimuli  are  reduced 


SLEEP  117 

to  zero  or  to  the  threshold.  Yawning  before 
sleep  is  an  effort  to  bring  about  muscular  re- 
laxation. Thus  muscular  relaxation  is  a  neces- 
sary condition  for  sleep  in  all  the  higher  ani- 
mals. In  the  lower  organisms  sleep  was  prob- 
ably limited  to  motionless  states  of  relaxation, 
which  had  all  the  characteristics  of  a  simple, 
elementary  instinct  or  tropism.  Those  organ- 
isms survived  which  possessed  these  relaxed  re- 
actions to  their  greatest  extent,  and  from  these 
sleep  arose.  All  motionless  states  in  animals 
are  not  sleep,  however,  neither  do  they  resemble 
sleep,  but  are  probably  a  variety  of  hypnosis,  as 
demonstrated  by  my  experiments. 

These  experiments  on  the  nature  of  sleep 
and  hypnosis  suggested  several  other  directions 
to  which  inquiry  might  be  directed — namely, 

1.  How  did  sleep  evolve? 

2.  What  is  the  biological  necessity  for  sleep? 
Although  it  has  been  noted  that  primitive, 

moving  unicellular  organisms,  when  observed 
for  hours  at  a  time,  were  unceasingly  active  and 
showed  no  motionless  states,  yet  sleep  must 
have  arisen  at  some  stage  of  evolution  from 
these  primitive  organisms.  Presumably  those 
organisms  survived  which  possessed  these  mo- 
tionless states  to  their  greatest  extent,  and 
from  these  motionless  states  could  probably  be 
traced  the  phylogenetic  origin  of  sleep.    In  the 


118     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

higher  animals,  however,  that  is,  in  those  pos- 
sessing a  complex  nervous  system,  these  motion- 
less states,  as  demonstrated  by  my  experiments, 
were  not  sleep  but  a  form  of  cerebral  inhibition, 
a  genuine  hypnosis.  Furthermore,  the  animals 
experimented  upon  possessed  genuine  spontane- 
ous sleep  states,  whereas  the  motionless  states 
induced  in  them  were  artificial  and  experimental. 
In  the  lower  organisms  these  motionless  states 
are  not  intelligent  reactions,  but  probably  blind 
mechanisms,  and  we  must  therefore  not  allow 
the  interpretation  of  such  phenomena  to  lead 
us  into  anthropomorphism.  Neither  can  they 
be  said  to  arise  from  fatigue,  because  such  states 
may  be  observed  in  organisms  which  have  not 
been  subjected  to  stimuli  that  would  lead  to 
fatigue.  Lower  organisms,  however,  are  very 
sensitive  to  light,  but  whether  this  influence  to 
light  is  a  chemical  or  a  mechanical  phenomenon 
cannot  be  discussed  at  present.  For  instance, 
many  motile  forms  collect  in  regions  of  a  given 
light  intensity,  some  orient  themselves  towards 
the  source  of  light  and  others  away  from  it  into 
shadows  or  where  the  light  is  diminished.  We 
are  dealing  here  with  a  process  variously  termed 
heliotropism   or   phototaxis.^     These   light   re- 

•  On  the  various  tropisms  and  the  reactions  of  organisms  to 
light,  and  the  interpretation  of  these  phenomena  from  the  stand- 
point of  comparative  psychology,  see  the  publications  of  Loeb, 
Fieron,  Bohn,  Jennings,  Verworn,  Clapar&de,  and  Mast. 


SLEEP  119 

actions  may  be  decidedly  rhythmic  in  character 
and  because  they  usually  result  from  sudden 
changes  in  the  intensity  of  light,  they  seem 
compulsory  and  mechanical.  It  has  been  found, 
for  instance,  that  a  sudden  increase  in  the 
intensity  of  light  will  cause  restlessness  in  earth 
worms  and  fresh  water  planarians.  Diminution 
of  the  intensity  of  light  inhibits  these  restless 
reactions  and  causes  the  creature  to  come  to 
rest,  or  if  such  a  creature  goes  from  a  light 
area  to  a  dark  one  its  activity  becomes  reduced 
to  a  minimum,  it  becomes  motionless  and  seems 
to  fall  asleep. 

It  seems  probable  that  out  of  these  periods 
of  immobility  and  rest  sleep  arose.  Light  is  a 
distance  receptor  and  the  activity  of  these  or- 
ganisms ceased  when  these  particular  receptors 
failed  to  throw  its  nerve  elements  into  activity. 
The  same  mechanism  probably  takes  place  in 
the  sleep  of  man  and  the  higher  animals  from 
the  inhibition  of  distance  receptors.  If  sleep  is 
an  instinct,  it  was  not  so  in  the  primitive 
organisms,  but  in  these  creatures  it  was  a 
tropism,  a  mechanical  or  chemical  necessity  for 
repose  under  conditions  where  light  was  absent. 
From  this  tropism-like  reaction,  sleep  arose, 
a  veritable  impulse  of  living  matter  to  higher 
and  higher  rhythmic  activities,  motility  on  the 
one  hand,  with  its  freedom  of  action  and  the 


120    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

consequent  development  of  the  nervous  system, 
periodic  immobility  on  the  other,  in  the  effort 
to  protect  this  nervous  system  from  the  per- 
nicious effects  of  over-activity.  Thus  those  or- 
ganisms which  showed  these  rhythmic  reactions 
of  immobility  and  repair  were  those  which  sur- 
vived in  the  biological  struggle  for  existence. 

Let  us  investigate  these  complex  reactions  to 
light  more  closely.  Sometimes  instead  of  at- 
taining a  definite  axial  position  or  orientation 
to  the  source  of  stimulation,  the  organism  as  a 
whole  will  move  from  light  to  shadow  or  vice 
versa.  Whether  or  not  these  reactions  are 
adaptive  or  mere  mechanical  automatisms  is  one 
of  the  most  important  questions  of  comparative 
psychology.  Probably  the  phenomenon,  at 
least  in  the  more  primitive  organisms,  is  not 
psychic,  the  light  in  these  cases  acting  as  a  mere 
directive  stimulus.  The  fact  that  in  brainless 
planarians  can  be  demonstrated  the  same  sen- 
sitiveness to  light,  but  that  the  reaction  time 
to  arrive  at  immobility  is  longer,  speaks  in 
favor  of  the  mechanistic  hypothesis. 

Histological  investigations  on  planaria  and 
earth  worms  seem  to  indicate  that  the  photo- 
sensitive elements  are  distributed  over  the  body 
surface.  That  the  reaction  to  light  is  a  me- 
chanical or  a  chemical  response  without  the 
involvement  of  consciousness  or  perception,  a 


SLEEP  121 

mere  mechanism,  is  demonstrated  by  the  fact 
that  brainless  organisms  become  motionless 
when  the  light  intensity  is  suddenly  reduced, 
or  what  amounts  to  the  same  thing,  when 
shadows  are  suddenly  thrown  over  the  bodies 
of  the  creatures.  These  reactions  to  shadows 
seem  to  be  defence  reactions,  because  a  shadow 
would  naturally  herald  the  approach  of  an 
enemy.  Then  the  organism  becomes  motion- 
less, a  condition  under  which  it  would  be 
less  likely  to  be  perceived.  Analogous  condi- 
tions are  sometimes  found  in  the  higher  ani- 
mals, namely,  simulation  of  death,  but  here 
the  defence  reaction  is  intellectual  and  not 
mechanistic.  Thus  these  latter  reactions  are 
in  a  general  way  adaptive  and  serve  a  purpose 
in  not  only  protecting  the  creature  from  ex- 
ternal influences,  but  likewise  have  a  reparative 
action. 

Sleep,  therefore,  in  these  lower  organisms 
seems  a  mere  rest  state,  a  negative  heliotropic 
reaction,  because  of  the  poverty  of  the  creature 
in  receptor  organs.  As  the  animal  evolved,  as 
the  spinal  cord  became  a  complicated  reflex 
mechanism  and  the  brain  the  dominant  organ 
of  consciousness,  the  various  receptors  became 
more  numerous  and  complicated,  and  parallel 
with  this  there  arose  rhythmic  states  of  activity 
alternating  with  rest  or  sleep. 


128    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

It  is  well  known  that  we  cannot  get  along 
without  sleep  and  so  the  important  question 
arises — ^why  is  sleep  biologically  necessary? 
Genuine  sleep  only  exists  in  organisms  with  a 
developed  nervous  system,  and  it  has  been 
shown  that  the  motionless  states  in  lowly  or- 
ganisms, when  in  shadows  or  in  darkness,  are 
not  sleep.  Sleep  also  seems  to  be  due  to  a 
cessation  of  activity  of  the  receptor  organs 
and  this  in  turn  causes  a  diminished  activity  of 
the  central  nervous  system.  In  sleep,  the  brain 
and  spinal  cord  alone  seem  to  be  the  seats  of 
diminished  activity,  for  the  body  metabolism 
during  sleep  does  not  differ  much  from  that  of 
the  waking  state.  Sleep  is  an  organic  need, 
in  the  same  way  that  hunger  is  an  organic  need. 
The  effect  of  complete  sleeplessness,  as  shown 
by  experimental  evidence,  is  to  cause  severe 
changes  in  the  nerve  cells.  Therefore,  the  ac- 
tivity of  the  nerve  cells  furnishes  the  key  to 
sleep.  The  Nissl  bodies  (or  granules)  of  the 
nerve  cells  accumulate  during  repose  and  dis- 
appear in  activity,  particularly  under  condi- 
tions of  fatigue.  In  the  brains  of  chickens  and 
dogs  which  have  been  suddenly  killed  during 
sleep  there  has  been  found  an  increase  of  the 
Nissl  bodies.  This  substance,  therefore,  ac- 
cumulates in  the  nerve  cells  during  their  func- 
tional inactivity,  when  the  sensory  stimuli  pour- 


SLEEP  128 

ing  into  these  cells  from  without  are  greatly 
diminished.  Normal  nerve  cells,  or  nerve  cells 
in  a  state  of  rest,  show  these  Nissl  bodies  with 
great  clearness.  It  is  only  in  the  fatigued  cell 
or  the  cell  which  has  been  poisoned  by  toxic 
substances  or  through  the  influence  of  increased 
temperature  in  fever,  that  these  bodies  are  dis- 
integrated and  in  many  cases  completely  dis- 
appear, giving  the  cell  a  washed-out  appearance 
(chromatolysis) .  Therefore,  sleep  is  a  mechan- 
ism for  the  repair  of  nerve  elements  which  have 
become  disintegrated  from  the  bombardment  of 
stimuli  received  by  the  various  surface  receptors 
and  receptor  organs  of  the  special  senses.  Those 
organisms  which  by  reason  of  rest  and  immobility 
when  they  went  into  darkness  or  shadows,  showed 
the  greatest  repair,  were  the  very  organisms 
which  survived  in  the  evolutionary  struggle  and 
sleep  evolved  out  of  these  motionless  states. 
This  reparative  power  is  absolute,  for  no  matter 
how  great  the  fatigue  or  long  the  insomnia,  only 
a  few  hours  of  complete  sleep  are  necessary  as 
demonstrated  by  some  exact  experiments  on  the 
loss  of  sleep  in  man. 

In  ordinary  sleep,  the  eyelids  are  lowered, 
and  a  position  is  assumed  by  the  sleeper  which 
tends  to  a  relaxation  of  all  the  voluntary  mus- 
cles. Certain  changes  take  place  in  the  pulse 
and   respiration,   the   blood-pressure    falls,   the 


124    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

muscles  become  relaxed,  the  threshold  of  con- 
sciousness becomes  very  low.  The  reflexes  are 
diminished  or  may  entirely  disappear.  The 
restorative  and  refreshing  effect  of  natural 
sleep  upon  the  tired  nervous  system  is  a  fact 
well  attested  by  everyday  experience.  A  pro- 
found sleep  is  refreshing;  a  broken  sleep,  even 
in  snatches  that  are  profound,  or  lying  in  a 
half -sleeping  state,  such  as  frequently  occurs  in 
insomnia,  fails  to  restore  the  fatigued  organism. 
But  even  the  pernicious  effects  of  a  complete 
insomnia  are  completely  balanced  by  a  few 
hours  of  profound  sleep,  as  has  been  shown  by 
certain  experiments  on  the  loss  of  sleep.  Sleep 
rests  and  refreshes  one  because  of  the  muscular 
immobility  and  relaxation  during  sleep,  the 
internal  organs  become  less  active,  the  nerv- 
ous system  rests,  there  is  a  decided  lowering  of 
mental  tension.  In  other  words,  during  nor- 
mal sleep,  there  is  a  distinct  reparative 
action. 

What  happens  if  the  body  is  deprived  of 
sleep?  We  will  consider  this  question  under 
two  heads: — the  complete  loss  of  sleep  from 
an  experimental  standpoint  and  the  involuntary 
partial  sleeplessness  known  as  insomnia.  It 
is  well  known  that  absolute  loss  of  sleep  has  a 
very  pernicious,  sometimes  even  a  fatal  effect 
upon  the  organism.    In  man,  however,  even  the 


SLEEP  125 

severest  types  of  insomnia  complained  of  by 
patients  who  are  sufferers  from  some  form  of 
nervous  or  mental  disease,  are  never  absolute 
sleeplessness.  In  China  and  during  the  In- 
quisition in  Europe,  forced  deprivation  of  sleep 
was  not  only  a  form  of  torture,  but  also  was 
used  as  a  form  of  capital  punishment. 

Manaceine's  experiments  on  young  puppies 
showed  that  the  animals  suffered  more  from 
loss  of  sleep  than  from  deprivation  of  food. 
When  the  animals  were  absolutely  deprived  of 
sleep  from  periods  varying  from  96  to  120 
hours,  the  result  was  invariably  fatal,  even  if 
sufficient  food  were  given  during  this  interval. 
She  concludes  from  her  experiments,  that  sleep 
is  even  more  necessary  to  animals  endowed  with 
consciousness,  than  food.  In  animals  which 
have  been  starved  to  death,  but  few  changes 
can  be  found  in  the  brain,  while  in  animals 
which  died  of  enforced  insomnia,  the  most  pro- 
found and  irreparable  changes  occurred,  such 
as  capillary  hemorrhage  and  fatty  alterations 
in  the  nerve  cells.  The  experimental  loss  of 
sleep,  as  applied  to  man,  was  carried  out  in 
a  very  systematic  manner  by  Professor  Pat- 
rick and  Dr.  J.  A.  Gilbert,  of  the  University 
of  lowa.^     This  was  the  first  time  that  such 

»  G.  T.  W.  Patrick  and  J.  A.  Gilbert:  "The  Effect  of  the  Los3 
of  Sleep." — Psychological  Bevietc,  September,  1896. 


126    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

experiments  were  carried  out  on  man,  previous 
investigations  having  been  limited  to  dogs.  The 
subjects  were  kept  awake  for  about  ninety 
hours  and  a  series  of  psychological  tests  com- 
prising reaction  time,  motor  ability,  memory, 
attention,  etc.,  were  made  at  six  hour  intervals. 
In  one  of  the  subjects,  during  the  second  night, 
hallucinations  of  sight  developed;  the  air  seemed 
full  of  colored  particles  which  appeared  like 
gnats  and  were  in  constant  dancing  motion.  In 
all  the  subjects,  memory  became  very  defective 
and  the  power  of  attention  was  greatly  lowered. 
After  the  experiments  were  finished,  sleep 
brought  about  a  complete  restoration,  in  about 
one-sixth  to  one-third  of  the  time  of  the  en- 
forced insomnia. 

The  development  of  hallucinations  in  the 
above  experiments  is  of  interest.  One  of  my 
cases  of  hysterical  insomnia  was  constantly  trou- 
bled by  grimacing  faces;  another  case  of  pro- 
tracted sleeplessness  would  see  a  panorama  of 
animals  just  as  he  dozed  off,  at  other  times  he 
would  hear  a  voice  constantly  repeating  "  Let 
down  the  jib."  All  these  sense  deceptions 
occurred  in  the  half-sleeping  condition,  never 
when  the  subject  was  fully  awake  or  fully 
asleep. 

Ordinary  insomnia  is  a  very  common  com- 
plaint.    One  of  the  most  common  causes  is 


SLEEP  l«7i 

physical  pain.  It  also  occurs  in  many  fonns 
of  nervous  diseases,  particularly  neurasthenia. 
In  this  insomnia  of  neurasthenia,  the  subject  is 
frequently  in  a  half-waking  and  half-sleeping 
condition,  with  a  hazy  state  of  consciousness  and 
limitation  of  muscular  activity.  Or  sleep  may 
be  secured  in  snatches,  but  the  slightest  noise 
awakens  the  sleeper.  Therefore,  in  spite  of 
their  statements,  these  individuals  never  suffer 
from  complete  insomnia;  they  sleep  more  than 
they  realize.  Extreme  physical  exhaustion 
alone  may  produce  insomnia,  a  proof  that  sleep 
is  not  absolutely  dependent  on  exhaustion  of  the 
nerve  centres.  Sleeplessness  may  also  be  due 
to  an  emotional  shock,  as  in  certain  cases  of 
hysterical  insomnia.  For  instance,  a  patient 
became  greatly  frightened  by  an  insane  woman 
entering  her  store  and  throwing  an  entire  box 
of  lighted  matches  among  some  paper.  The 
patient  immediately  became  greatly  agitated, 
began  to  dream  of  the  episode  at  night,  and 
one  week  later,  an  insomnia  developed,  which 
continued  for  five  years,  up  to  the  time  she 
came  under  observation. 

Sometimes  insomnia  may  be  due  to  the  de- 
velopment of  a  fixed  idea  that  sleep  is  impos- 
sible. One  patient  said,  "  I  cannot  get  it  out 
of  my  skull  that  I  am  not  going  to  sleep." 
Janet  had  studied  in  great  detail  a  case  in  which 


128    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

the  sleeplessness  was  due  to  a  fixed  idea/  In 
this  case,  the  patient  developed  a  severe  attack 
of  typhoid  fever  four  months  after  the  death  of 
her  child.  During  convalescence  from  this  ill- 
ness, she  suffered  from  an  almost  corrtinual 
visual  hallucination  of  her  dead  child,  particu- 
larly at  night.  After  this  sleeplessness  de- 
veloped, and  when  she  first  came  under  Janet's 
observation,  the  patient  claimed  that  she  had 
not  slept  a  wink  for  two  years.  This  almost 
complete  loss  of  sleep  was  verified  by  careful 
observation.  During  the  day  she  complained 
of  fatigue,  and  the  facial  expression  was  that 
of  one  half  asleep.  Drugs  failed  to  induce 
sleep;  hypnosis  produced  only  light  states  of 
short  duration,  in  which  the  patient  would 
awaken  suddenly,  with  an  expression  of  terror. 
At  night  also,  she  would  go  into  a  half -drowsy 
condition  and  awaken  suddenly,  much  terrified, 
saying  that  she  had  had  a  bad  dream,  but  which 
was  only  vaguely  remembered  on  awakening. 
When  questioned  during  her  somnolent  state,  it 
developed  that  the  so-called  dream  consisted  of 
an  hallucination  of  her  dead  child.  The  insomnia 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  hallucination  de- 
veloped immediately  after  the  somnolent  con- 
dition took  place ;  the  patient  would  then  become 

»  Pierre  Janet:  "Nevrose  et  Id^s  Fixes,"  VoL  I,  pp.  854-374^ 
(Chapter  on  **  Insomnie  par  Idte  Fixe  Subcoosciente.") 


SLEEP  129 

terrified  and  waken.    Here  was  clearly  a  case 
of  insomnia  due  to  a  subconscious  fixed  idea. 

The  depth  of  sleep  is  variable.  We  have  the 
lighter  subwaking  states  in  which  consciousness 
is  almost  perfectly  preserved,  the  deeper  somno- 
lent conditions  in  which  dreams  occur,  and 
finally  the  deepest  grades  of  sleep,  in  which 
consciousness  is  reduced  to  such  a  low  threshold 
that  it  may  be  considered  as  being  almost  en- 
tirely obhterated.  In  these  somnolent  states 
the  sense  of  the  lapse  of  time  is  only  partially 
obliterated,  in  deep  sleep  completely  so;  we  may 
have  slept  for  hours  but  on  awakening  we  have 
the  illusion  that  it  has  been  only  a  few  minutes. 
Sleep  is  most  profound  in  the  early  part  of  the 
night  or  within  the  first  half-hour  after  falling 
asleep,  and  it  becomes  more  shallow  during  the 
early  morning  hours.  In  some  experiments 
with  the  capillary  electrometer  on  sleeping  sub- 
jects, it  was  found  that  the  greatest  depth  of 
sleep  was  reached  in  about  an  hour  and  that 
this  period  corresponded  with  the  greatest  de- 
gree of  muscular  relaxation.  It  is  of  interest 
to  note  that  it  is  just  during  these  early  morn- 
ing hours  when  sleep  is  lightest,  that  dreams 
are  most  apt  to  occur.  The  depth  of  sleep  is 
measured  either  by  the  height  from  which  a 
metallic  ball  must  be  dropped  to  awaken  the 
sleeper  or  by  the  intensity  of  an  electric  cur- 


ISO    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

rent  from  an  induction  coil.  However,  if  there 
is  an  element  of  expectation,  a  very  slight  noise 
will  awaken  the  sleeper,  as  in  the  case  of  a 
sleeping  mother  being  awakened  by  a  slight 
movement    of    her    child. 

This  subwaking  state  to  which  we  have  sev- 
eral times  alluded,  where  the  individual  hovers 
between  sleep  and  waking,  is  of  great  practical 
and  scientific  interest.  When  it  occurs  spon- 
taneously, it  is  technically  known  as  the  hyp- 
nagogic state;  when  it  is  experimentally  pro- 
duced by  listening  to  a  monotonous  sound 
stimulus,  while  the  individual  is  in  a  state  of 
muscular  relaxation  with  limitation  of  volun- 
tary movements,  it  is  called  the  hypnoidal  con- 
dition (Sidis),  or  the  state  of  induced  or  experi- 
mental distraction  (Coriat).  The  spontaneous 
hypnagogic  state  may  be  only  momentary  in 
duration  or  it  may  last  for  fifteen  minutes  or 
more.  It  occurs  just  as  one  is  falling  asleep 
or  as  one  is  awakening  from  slumber.  It  ap- 
pears that  we  never  go  to  sleep  or  waken  sud- 
denly. There  always  intervenes  this  hypna- 
gogic state  between  sleep  on  one  side  and 
awakening  on  the  other,  a  state  bordering  on 
hypnosis,  really  a  natural  hypnotic  state,  par- 
ticularly when  it  occurs  just  before  the  individ- 
ual falls  asleep.  When  sleep  takes  place,  how- 
ever, the  relation  of  sleep  to  hypnosis  ceases. 


SLEEP  ISl 

This  hypnagogic  state  occurs  in  all  individuals 
and  is  markedly  protracted  in  insomnia,  par- 
ticularly in  those  subjects  who  complain  of 
absolute  loss  of  sleep.  In  this  hypnagogic  state, 
many  peculiar  psychic  and  motor  phenomena 
may  appear,  and  there  is  also  obtained,  as  in 
real  hypnosis,  a  condition  of  increased  suggesti- 
bility, so  that  it  possesses  a  certain  therapeutic 
value. 

We  will  first  consider  a  condition  of  muscu- 
lar activity  which  is  peculiar  to  the  hypnagogic 
state.  It  is  well  known  that  even  on  being 
suddenly  awakened  from  a  deep  sleep,  full  con- 
sciousness is  not  immediately  regained.  Com- 
plete consciousness  is  reached  only  after  pass- 
ing through  this  intermediary  hypnagogic  state. 
In  this  state,  there  is  sometimes  an  extreme 
difficulty  in  opening  the  eyelids,  at  other  times 
a  complete  inability  to  move  the  limbs.  After  a 
time,  however,  and  by  continued  effort  of  the 
will,  the  eyes  can  be  opened  or  the  limbs  moved. 
When  this  point  has  been  attained,  conscious- 
ness has  become  completely  restored  and  the 
hypnagogic  state  has  entirely  disappeared. 
Now  this  transitory  paralysis  of  the  limbs  and 
eyes  occurs  frequently  in  normal  individuals, 
but  is  only  momentary.  Sometimes,  however, 
the  phenomenon  either  occurs  frequently  or  is 
greatly  prolonged.     Under  both  these  condi- 


132    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

tions  we  are  dealing  with  what  I  have  called 
nocturnal  paralysis.^  When  this  paralysis  is 
frequent  or  unduly  prolonged,  it  becomes  a 
genuine  functional  nervous  disorder.  In  one  of 
my  cases,  this  inability  to  move  the  limbs  lasted 
for  fifteen  minutes.  A  brief  report  of  a  case 
which  came  under  personal  observation  will  il- 
lustrate the  matter  more  clearly  than  any  de- 
scription. It  refers  to  a  patient  in  whom  these 
distressing  attacks  of  nocturnal  paralysis  had 
persisted  for  a  number  of  years.  After  a 
sound  sleep  he  would  awaken  suddenly,  know 
where  he  was  and  who  he  was,  but  could  not 
recall  his  name.  Therefore,  consciousness  was 
not  completely  clear,  a  prominent  characteristic 
of  the  hypnagogic  state.  In  the  attack  the  eyes 
were  closed  and  the  limbs  rigid.  He  was  unable 
to  open  the  eyes,  to  move  the  limbs,  or  to  cry 
out.  The  duration  of  the  individual  attacks 
averaged  about  three  minutes  and  they  occurred 
about  once  a  week.  In  another  subject  the 
condition  of  nocturnal  paralysis  was  vividly 
described  as  "  I  feel  like  a  doll  whose  eyes  can 
be  opened  but  who  cannot  move  the  limbs." 
The  condition  in  all  these  cases  is  only  a  dis- 

*  **  Nocturnal  Paralysis." — Botton  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal, 
Vol.  CLVII,  No.  2,  July  11,  1907.  ("Some  Further  Studies  on 
Nocturnal  Paralysis,"  Ibid.,  VoL  CLVII,  No.  23»  .December  5, 
1907.) 


SLEEP  188 

sociation  of  consciousness  reacting  most  strongly 
on  the  motor  mechanism.  It  bears  no  relation 
to  epilepsy,  as  one  writer  would  lead  us  to  be- 
lieve. Neither  does  sudden  awakening  from 
sound  sleep  bear  any  relation  to  the  disorder, 
for  in  some  personal  experiments  on  sleeping 
animals  which  were  suddenly  awakened  by  a 
loud  noise,  not  even  a  temporary  muscular 
rigidity  took  place. 

Other  peculiar  phenomena  occur  in  this  hyp- 
nagogic state.  Hallucinations  of  hearing  may 
take  place,  as  in  the  case  of  the  patient  cited 
above,  who  heard  a  voice  repeating,  "  Lower  the 
jib."  Sometimes  there  are  heard  loud  sounds 
like  a  gong  or  a  piece  of  falling  metal,  and  the 
half -sleeping  subject  is  suddenly  awakened  by 
these  sense  deceptions.  Occasionally  there  are 
shock-like  startings  of  the  body  or  a  sensation  as 
if  falling.  A  condition  called  catalepsy  may 
also  arise,  in  which  the  limbs  can  be  molded 
like  a  piece  of  lead  pipe  and  kept  in  a  strained 
position  for  some  time,  without  any  apparent 
sense  of  fatigue.  Horrible  dreams  may  take 
place  with  a  sense  of  great  fear,  as  in  the  night 
terrors  of  children.  Occasionally,  the  hallucina- 
tions are  those  of  touch,  either  a  light  touch  or  a 
sensation  as  if  we  were  gripped  in  a  vise.  When 
this  latter  occurs,  there  is  usually  associated  a 
terrifying  dream  with  great  fear  and  a  sense  of 


1S4    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

impending  suffocation  or  death.  This  is  the  so- 
called  nightmare.  In  the  case  of  a  woman,  there 
arose  a  sense  of  an  awful  calamity  about  to 
overtake  the  patient;  a  deformed  man  would 
seem  to  spring  on  her,  and  she  would  think, 
"  It  has  overtaken  me,  this  is  the  end  of  all." 
Then  she  would  cry  out  and  the  scream  would 
awaken  her.  In  another  case  the  patient  felt 
as  if  she  were  grasping  something,  a  pencil  or 
a  person's  wrist;  sometimes  the  sensation  would 
be  as  if  the  fingers  and  toes  were  swelling  to  the 
bursting  point.  These  nightmares  have  also 
been  interpreted  as  nocturnal  states  of  anxiety, 
based  upon  certain  repressed  sexual  conflicts. 
The  phenomena  of  nightmare,  as  shown  by 
Ernest  Jones,  explain  the  mediaeval  theory  of 
a  fiend  who  sits  upon  one's  bosom  and  hinders 
respiration. 

These  hypnagogic  hallucinations  have  been 
utilized  with  great  imaginative  effectiveness  by 
Guy  de  Maupassant  in  his  description  of  a 
nightmare.  In  his  novelette  "  Le  Horla  "  he 
describes  the  development  of  an  incipient  men- 
tal disease.  The  sufferer  in  question  was  a 
victim  of  insomnia  and  believed  that  he  was 
pursued  and  haunted  by  an  imaginary  being. 
Then  in  terribly  laconic  sentences,  the  author 
gives  us  a  most  vivid  description  of  the  follow- 
ing condition,  which  is  really  a  hypnagogic  hal- 


SLEEP  185 

lucination,  a  kind  of  a  night  terror.  "  Then  I 
lay  down  and  waited  for  sleep  as  one  waits  an 
execution.  .  .  .  My  heart  beat  and  my  legs 
trembled;  my  entire  body  started  in  the  warmth 
of  the  sheets,  up  to  the  moment  when  I  sud- 
denly fell  asleep,  as  one  falls  into  an  abyss  of 
stagnant  water  when  dreaming.  ...  I  slept — 
a  long  time — two  or  three  hours — then  a  dream 
— no,  a  nightmare  took  hold  of  me.  I  felt  that 
I  was  lying  down  and  that  I  was  asleep — I  felt 
it  and  saw  it — and  I  also  had  the  feeling  that 
some  one  approached  me,  looked  at  me,  touched 
me,  mounted  on  my  bed,  knelt  on  my  chest, 
took  my  neck  between  his  hands  and  squeezed — 
with  all  his  force  to  strangle  me.  I  struggled, 
bound  by  this  atrocious  power.  ...  I  tried  to 
cry  out — but  was  unable  to; — I  tried  to  move — 
I  was  unable  to;  I  tried  with  fearful  efforts, 
panting  for  breath,  to  turn,  to  throw  off  this 
Being  who  crushed  and  stifled  me — I  was  un- 
able to.  And  suddenly  I  awoke,  covered  with 
perspiration.     I  lit  a  candle.     I  was  alone." 

There  are  a  number  of  conditions  which  out- 
wardly resemble  sleep,  yet  are  distinct  from  it. 
The  so-called  African  sleeping-sickness,  which 
occurs  with  the  greatest  frequency  in  the  region 
around  the  Congo  River,  is  a  condition  of 
gradually  increasing  stupor,  which  terminates 
in  death.    It  is  caused  by  a  micro-organism  be- 


1S6    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

longing  to  the  Protozoon  group,  which  is  found 
in  the  blood  and  central  nervous  system,  and  is 
transmitted  by  a  certain  African  fly.  A  morbid 
disposition  to  sleep,  coming  on  in  sudden  at- 
tacks, and  characterized  either  by  mere  drowsi- 
ness or  complete  unconsciousness,  is  sometimes 
seen  in  hysteria  and  particularly  in  epilepsy. 
This  condition  is  called  narcolepsy  and  the  at- 
tacks are  designated  as  narcoleptic  attacks.  A 
form  of  stupor,  outwardly  resembling  sleep, 
is  seen  in  some  forms  of  mental  disease,  particu- 
larly adolescent  insanity.  The  sleep  of  anes- 
thetics, such  as  ether  or  chloroform,  is  due  to 
the  direct  chemical  action  of  volatile  drugs 
upon  the  brain.  Here  the  analogy  with  sleep 
ends,  because  the  depth  of  unconsciousness  pro- 
duced by  these  anesthetics  is  much  greater  than 
in  normal  sleep,  as  shown  by  the  complete  in- 
sensibility to  pain.  It  must  be  admitted,  how- 
ever, that  before  ether  or  chloroform  anesthesia 
becomes  complete,  there  is  always  a  preceding 
semi-drowsy  state,  the  same  as  occurs  just  be- 
fore normal  sleep. 

Hypnosis  only  outwardly  resembles  normal 
sleep.  The  relation  of  sleep  to  hypnosis  will 
be  discussed  in  the  chapter  relating  to  this  lat- 
ter condition.  Sleep-walking  or  somnambulism, 
in  which  many  complicated  and  seemingly  nat- 
ural acts  are  executed  with  a  loss  of  memory 


SLEEP  187 

for  these  acts,  occurs  not  only  in  the  disease 
hysteria,  but  also  in  normal  individuals.  Som- 
nambulism, however,  is  not  sleep,  but  a  special 
mental  state  arising  out  of  sleep  through  a 
definite  mechanism.  It  may  assume  various 
types,  either  the  ordinary  form  of  sleep-walking 
or  may  develop  to  the  high  degree  of  actual 
changes  in  the  personality.  In  both  instances, 
it  is  probably  a  form  of  mental  dissociation. 
The  amnesia  is  only  an  apparent  one,  as  the 
memory  may  be  recovered  by  appropriate 
methods.  In  one  case  of  somnambulism,  it  was 
possible  to  restore  the  memory  for  all  the  com- 
plex acts  of  the  period,  although  this  period 
was  of  an  hour's  duration.^ 

*  For  a  complete  discussion  of  somnambulism  and  its  psycho- 
analytic application,  see  my  book,  "The  Hysteria  of  Lady 
Macbeth,"  New  York— 1912.     (Particularly  Chapter  II.) 


CHAPTER  VI 

DREAMS 

Dreaming,  like  sleeping,  is  one  of  the  mys- 
teries of  our  psychic  life.  For  centuries,  dreams 
have  had  a  peculiar  fascination  for  man.  The 
world  of  dreams,  because  it  was  so  distorted 
and  so  fantastic,  has  been  interpreted  as  having 
an  entirely  different  significance  from  the  wak- 
ing world.  The  occult  significance  of  dreams 
has  given  another  coloring  to  literature,  folk- 
lore, and  even  religion.  But  while  the  ancients 
were  particularly  concerned  with  the  prophetic 
nature  of  dreams,  the  modern  investigator  has 
busied  himself  in  an  attempt  to  fathom  out  the 
psychological*  mechanism  of  "  the  stuff  that 
dreams  are  made  of." 

In  this  chapter  we  will  discuss  the  subject  of 
dreams  from  the  purely  psychological  stand- 
point, as  manifestations  of  certain  forms  of  dis- 
sociations of  consciousness  and  of  unconscious 
wishes.  We  will  leave  untouched,  as  foreign  to 
our  subject,  the  statistics  of  dreams  or  of  their 
interpretation  from  the  standpoint  of  symbol- 
ism, prophecy,  telepathy,  atavism,  or  premoni- 

138 


DREAMS  189 

tions  of  the  future.  These  latter  aspects  be- 
long more  strictly  to  the  field  of  psychical  re- 
search, than  to  that  of  abnormal  psychology, 
and  though  many  remarkable  dream  experiences 
have  been  collected,  the  effort  to  establish  a 
supernormal  basis  has  not  been  successful.  The 
attempts  to  interpret  the  underlying  mechan- 
ism of  dreams  are  recent.  Modern  science  has 
stripped  much  of  the  cloak  of  mystery  from 
dreams  and  laid  bare  to  critical  view  the  cold, 
dry  facts.  These  facts  in  themselves  are  just 
as  interesting  as  any  supernormal  interpreta- 
tions, and  what  is  more  to  the  point,  are  more 
valuable. 

The  modem  investigations  of  dreams  have 
assumed  several  distinct  aspects.  In  order  that 
the  reader  may  have  a  clear  view  of  the  entire 
field,  the  following  summary  of  these  investiga- 
tions may  be  made: 

1.  Investigations  of  dreams  from  the  super- 
normal standpoint,  what  is  generally  known  as 
the  field  of  psychical  research  just  referred  to. 

2.  The  study  of  dreams  from  the  purely 
statistical  standpoint,  as  in  the  investigations  of 
Sante  de  Sanctis  and  Miss  Calkins  and  her 
pupils. 

In  both  of  these  publications  the  method 
used  was  that  of  introspection,  the  dreamer 
being  asked  to  record  his  dream  immediately  on 


140    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

awakening.  Miss  Calkins  investigated  the 
dreams  of  normal  persons.  She  found  that 
dreams  occurred  usually  during  the  light  morn- 
ing sleep  and  that  there  was  a  very  close  con- 
nection between  dreaming  and  the  experiences 
of  waking  life.  Illusions  of  memory  and  dis- 
tortions of  facts,  and  of  the  time  element  were 
quite  frequent.  She  divided  dreams  into  two 
types — the  presentation  type,  or  those  occasioned 
or  accompanied  by  peripheral  excitation,  and 
the  representation  type,  those  of  purely  central 
or  cerebral  origin.  The  largest  number  of 
dreams  were  visual  in  nature,  then  followed  in 
order,  auditory,  touch,  taste,  and  olfactory 
dreams.  As  our  visual  apparatus  is  most  active 
during  the  waking  state,  so  visual  dreams  are 
the  most  frequent,  while  pure  auditory  dreams 
occur  frequently  in  musicians. 

Sante  de  Sanctis  not  only  studied  the  nor- 
mal dreams  in  children,  adults,  and  the  aged, 
but  also  the  dreams  of  criminals  and  animals, 
the  insane  and  in  certain  nervous  diseases,  such 
as  hysteria,  epilepsy,  neurasthenia.  He  con- 
cludes that  even  animals  and  very  young  chil- 
dren dream,  and  that  the  dreams  of  old  people 
are  less  vivid  than  in  adults.  These  dreams  of 
the  aged  tend  to  disappear  quickly  on  awaken- 
ing, in  harmony  with  the  weakness  of  memory 
for  recent  events  in  old  age.     In  hysteria  the 


DREAMS  141 

dreams  are  very  intense  and  have  a  strong  emo- 
tional coloring.  In  epilepsy  the  dreams  are  less 
complex  than  in  hysteria;  neurasthenics  dream 
frequently,  the  dreams  resembling  those  of  hys- 
teria, but  are  less  intense  and  not  so  well  re- 
called on  awakening.  The  insane  frequently 
dream  of  their  hallucinations  and  delusions. 

3.  The  purely  psychological  researches  of  the 
mechanism  of  dreams,  such  as  the  publications 
of  Freud  ^  and  Tissie  *  and  Hourly  Void '  and 
the  investigations  of  the  content  of  dream  con- 
sciousness, as  in  the  dreams  of  the  blind.*  Void's 
investigations  have  led  him  to  believe  that  cu- 
taneous or  motor  stimuli  are  the  most  frequent 
causes  of  dreams  and  that  frequently  childhood 
memories  are  interwoven  in  the  dream  life. 

4.  The  interpretations  of  dreams  from  the 
standpoint  of  dissociated  mental  states,  as  in 
multiple  personality,  functional  amnesia,  and 
the  dream-like  hallucinations  resulting  from  the 
action  of  certain  toxic  drugs,  such  as  alcohol, 
opium,  and  hashish.  Part  of  these  belong  to 
purely  scientific  literature,  as  in  the  modern 
studies  of  dissociations  of  consciousness,  and 
part    to    the    dream-hallucinations    of    certain 

»Sigm.  Freud:  "Die  Traumdeutung,"  1909. 
»Ph.  Tissie:   "Les   Rfives,"   1890. 
•J.  Mourly  Void:  "  Ueber  den  Traum,"  1910. 
*J.   Jastrow:  "The   Dreams   of  the  Blind."     (In  "Fact  and 
Fable  in  Psychology,"  1900.) 


142     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

imaginative  writers,  for  instance  De  Quincey 
and  Baudelaire,  yet  possessing  a  certain  scien- 
tific value.  Finally  we  have  introspective  ac- 
counts of  intelligent  patients  who  have  recovered 
from  alcoholic  delirium.  These  two  latter 
groups,  the  mechanism  of  dreams  and  their 
occurrence  and  interpretation  in  states  of  men- 
tal dissociation,  will  form  the  chief  subject- 
matter  of  this  chapter. 

Freud  has  been  foremost  in  the  investigation 
of  the  mechanism  of  dreams.  So  important  are 
Freud's  investigations  on  dreams,  as  revealing 
the  mechanism  of  the  unconscious  and  the 
psycho-analytic  treatment  of  certain  functional 
neuroses,  that  they  will  be  discussed  in  the  fol- 
lowing chapter. 

Dreams  are  not  phenomena  of  accidental 
origin,  but  have  a  hidden  meaning  and  are 
related  to  either  dissociated,  suppressed,  or 
dormant  past  experiences,  and  originate  chiefly 
in  the  subconscious  mental  life.  In  dreaming, 
the  experiences  may  be  distorted  in  their  char- 
acter (called  paramnesia),  or  the  time  element 
may  be  disturbed  (anachronism),  either  by  the 
imagination  or  by  external  stimuli.  The  central 
nucleus  remains,  however — the  element  of  recog- 
nition is  not  absent.  For  instance,  we  may 
dream  of  something  that  we  knew  took  place 
long  ago,  not  to  ourselves,  but  to  others,  and 


DREAMS  148 

yet  it  may  seem  to  happen  at  present  and  we 
may  be  the  chief  actor  in  that  particular  dream. 
Dreams  are  not  insignificant  and  without  value. 
They  lay  bare  the  innermost  secrets  of  the 
heart,  past  experiences,  wishes,  desires.  Our 
subconscious  mental  life  is  filled  with  experi- 
ences struggling  to  enter  consciousness,  and  in 
sleep,  when  there  is  no  longer  any  dissociation, 
these  experiences  enter  consciousness  and  are 
interpreted  as  dreams.  In  sleep,  the  censorship 
of  the  normal  waking  consciousness  is  removed, 
the  suppressed  or  dissociated  experiences  gain 
the  upper  hand  and,  colored  by  the  imagination, 
they  form  new  combinations  resulting  in  a  weird 
phantasmagoria.  The  mechanism  of  dreams  is, 
therefore,  similar  to  the  dissociations  of  an 
everyday  waking  life,  into  which  these  subcon- 
scious elements  so  largely  enter. 

Dreams  have  two  principal  sources: — (1) 
Those  arising  from  external  stimuli  during 
sleep  and  becoming  distorted  in  consciousness, 
and  (2)  those  having  purely  an  internal  origin, 
as  manifestations  of  conscious,  suppressed,  or 
dissociated  experiences.  In  those  dreams  caused 
by  external  stimuli,  the  intensity  of  the  dream- 
state  is  much  greater  than  the  stimulus  which 
gave  rise  to  the  dream.  A  number  of  external 
conditions  may  thus  be  factors  in  the  develop- 
ment of  a  dream,  such  as  the  position  of  the 


144.  EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

body,  a  loud  noise,  or  a  sudden  light  that  strikes 
the  face  of  the  sleeper,  uncovering  of  the  bed- 
clothes so  as  to  expose  a  portion  of  the  body, 
hunger,  thirst,  impeded  respiration,  pain,  etc. 
For  instance,  in  Maury's  experiments  on 
dreams,  when  the  sleeping  subject  was  tickled 
on  the  lips  and  nostrils  with  a  feather,  there 
arose  a  dream  of  terrible  torture,  the  subject 
dreaming  that  a  mask  of  pitch  had  been  placed 
on  his  face  and  then  pulled  away  so  that  the 
skin  of  the  face  came  with  it.  When  water 
was  dropped  on  the  forehead,  he  dreamed  that 
he  was  in  Italy  perspiring  freely  and  drinking 
white  wine. 

A  dream  may  sometimes  follow  a  glance  at 
a  book  or  newspaper  account.  One  subject 
dreamed  of  a  man  on  a  lonely  island  in  the 
middle  of  the  ocean,  and  traced  this  to  the 
reading  of  newspaper  accounts  of  Dreyfus  on 
Devil's  Island.  In  another  person,  after  a 
glance  at  a  book  treating  of  Egyptian  life  and 
manners,  the  following  dream  took  place  the 
same  night.  He  dreamed  that  he  was  in  an 
ancient  Egyptian  city,  and  about  him  were  mas- 
sive buildings  and  monuments,  adorned  with 
hieroglyphics.  Crowds  of  people  were  present; 
it  seemed  to  be  the  occasion  of  some  great  festi- 
val or  holiday.  He  was  taken  to  the  roof  of  a 
high  building  by  a  number  of  men  in  military 


DREAMS  145 

dress,  there  he  was  bound  hand  and  foot  and 
lowered  a  short  distance  below  the  roof  by 
means  of  a  rope.  One  of  the  soldiers  took  an 
axe  and  cut  the  rope,  and  he  fell  an  immeasur- 
able distance  to  the  ground.  At  this  point,  just 
before  touching  the  ground,  he  awoke. 

These  are  all  examples  of  simple  dreams. 
Sometimes  external  stimuli  give  rise  to  very 
complex  dream  experiences,  as  in  the  elaborate 
taste  dream  related  by  Hammond.* 

"  A  young  lady  sought  to  cure  herself  of  the  habit  of 
thumb  sucking  acquired  in  babyhood  by  covering  the 
offending  thumb  with  extract  of  aloes.  During  the 
night  she  dreamed  that  she  was  crossing  the  ocean  in  a 
steamer  made  of  wormwood  and  that  the  vessel  was 
furnished  throughout  with  the  same  material,  and  the 
emanation  so  pervaded  all  parts  of  the  ship  that  it  was 
impossible  to  breathe  without  tasting  the  bitterness ; 
everything  that  she  ate  or  drank  was  likewise  impreg- 
nated from  the  flavor.  When  she  arrived  at  Havre  she 
asked  for  a  glass  of  water  to  wash  the  taste  from  her 
n)outh,  but  they  brought  her  an  infusion  of  wormwood, 
which  she  gulped  down  because  she  was  thirsty.  She 
sent  to  Paris  and  consulted  a  famous  physician,  beg- 
ging him  to  do  something  which  would  extract  the 
wormwood  from  her  body.  He  told  her  there  was  but 
one  remedy,  and  that  was  ox-gall.  This  he  gave  her 
by  the  pound,  and  in  a  few  weeks  the  wormwood  was  all 

•This  account  is  taken  from  Manaceine:  "Sleep,"  pp.  260-361. 


146    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

gone,  but  the  ox-gall  had  taken  its  place  and  was  fully 
as  bitter  and  disagreeable.  To  get  rid  of  the  ox-gall 
she  was  advised  to  take  counsel  of  the  Pope.  She  ac- 
cordingly went  to  Rome  and  obtained  an  audience  of 
the  Holy  Father.  He  told  her  that  she  must  make  a 
pilgrimage  to  the  plain  where  the  pillar  of  salt  stood, 
into  which  Lot's  wife  was  transformed,  and  must  eat  a 
piece  of  the  salt  as  big  as  her  thumb.  She  did  so  and 
awoke  to  find  that  she  had  sucked  all  the  aloes  off  the 
thumb." 

Dreams  are  manifestations  of  a  persistent 
consciousness  during  sleep.  We  dream  only 
when  this  consciousness  persists,  or  is  active  to 
a  certain  degree.  Therefore,  two  things  are  nec- 
essary for  dreaming — ^the  persistence  of  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  consciousness  during  sleep  and 
a  certain  activity  of  this  persistent  consciousness. 
It  has  been  said  that  a  sound  sleep  is  dreamless, 
but  if  dreams  do  occur  in  sound  sleep,  we  have 
no  proof  of  the  fact,  because  we  have  no  mem- 
ory of  them  on  awakening.  It  is  extremely 
doubtful,  however,  if  there  is  enough  of  this 
persistent  consciousness  in  a  really  sound  sleep, 
to  form  any  dreams.  Of  course  lack  of  memory 
after  a  deep  sleep  is  no  proof  that  there  was  no 
conscious  activity  during  this  time  and  dream- 
ing did  not  take  place,  because  in  deep  hypnotic 
states  mental  activity  goes  on,  but  there  is  no 
memory  of  this  activity  on  regaining  the  normal 


DREAMS  147 

waking  condition.  The  same  might  be  true  of 
deep  sleep.  If  dreams  only  occur  in  light  sleep 
or  in  the  intermediate  sleep  states,  we  remember 
them,  but  this  does  not  prove  that  dreams  are 
absent  in  deep  sleep,  because  we  do  not  remem- 
ber them.  Under  ordinary  circumstances,  we 
are  able  to  recollect  only  a  small  portion  of  our 
mental  activity  during  sleep.  However,  the 
weight  of  evidence  seems  to  show  that  dreams 
occur  only  in  light  sleep  or  in  the  intermediate 
(hypnagogic)  sleep  states.  The  latter,  as  was 
previously  pointed  out,  is  a  kind  of  a  natural 
hypnotic  condition.  In  light  hypnosis,  isolated 
dream-like  hallucinations  may  take  place,  as 
in  one  of  my  subjects  who  insisted  that  I  pulled 
his  coat  sleeve  while  he  was  hypnotized,  when  in 
reality  I  sat  at  some  distance  from  him.  In 
Patrick's  and  Gilbert's  experiments  on  the  loss 
of  sleep,  one  of  the  subjects  reported  a  dream 
while  he  was  standing  up  gazing  at  a  piece  of 
apparatus.  At  this  time  he  was  evidently  par- 
tially asleep,  although  he  considered  himself 
fully  awake.  In  some  of  my  experiments  on 
the  artificial  production  of  sleep,  fragmentary 
dreams  occurred.  One  of  the  best  proofs  that 
dreams  occur  only  in  the  intermediate  sleeping 
states  is — that  we  scarcely  ever  finish  a  dream. 
We  always  awaken  at  a  particular  part,  at  a 
critical  moment,  namely,  the  part  at  which  the 


148     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

emotional  element,  usually  fear,  is  the  most 
vivid.  The  dream  is  unfinished,  probably  be- 
cause we  are  on  the  road  to  awakening  while 
we  dream.  As  we  become  more  and  more 
awake,  the  dream  ceases.  This  awakening  at  a 
particular  vivid  moment  of  a  dream  was  seen  in 
Janet's  case  of  insomnia  due  to  a  subconscious 
fixed  idea,  and  also  in  our  case  of  Mrs.  Y.,  who 
displayed  four  hypnotic  personalities.  As  this 
latter  case  will  be  studied  in  full  in  another 
chapter,  we  will  give  only  the  essentials  of  a 
peculiar  recurrent  dream.  At  the  moment  of 
falling  asleep,  the  patient  would  experience 
with  great  intensity  the  following  dream.  She 
would  see  a  surgeon  robed  in  white  and  with 
his  sleeves  rolled  up,  working  at  the  back  of  the 
head  of  the  patient  herself  and  taking  stitches 
in  the  scalp.  This  dream  was  only  momentary, 
and  every  time  she  experienced  it  she  would 
awaken  immediately. 

The  most  interesting  dreams  are  those  which 
occur  in  certain  dissociations  of  consciousness, 
such  as  hysteria,  multiple  personality,  amnesia, 
and  in  recurrent  dream  states.  Studies  of  the 
dream  life  in  these  conditions  have  furnished  us 
with  valuable  information  concerning  the  exact 
nature  of  these  dissociations  and  have  proven 
that  dreams  are  merely  waking  experiences 
which  appear  during  sleep,  but  of  which  the 


i 


DREAMS  tl49 

waking  subject  has  no  memory  except  as  a 
dream.  In  states  of  psychopathic  dissociation, 
dreams  have  their  origin  in  the  waking  experi- 
ences of  the  individual.  They  are  experiences 
of  the  original  primary  personality  of  which 
there  is  no  memory  in  the  waking  state.  These 
dreams  appear  without  apparent  reason,  are 
strange  and  peculiar,  and  not  synthetized  with 
the  waking  or  sleeping  personality. 

In  the  case  of  Susan  N.,^  a  study  of  the 
dreams  proved  valuable  and  interesting  and 
illustrated  these  points  in  an  admirable  manner. 
In  this  case,  after  an  attack  of  prolonged 
stupor,  the  patient  awoke  to  find  that  the  mem- 
ory of  her  whole  previous  life,  from  the  time 
of  her  birth,  was  completely  obliterated.  In 
sleep,  however,  the  patient  dreamed  of  episodes 
for  which  she  had  no  memory  in  her  wak- 
ing state  and  the  dreams  were,  therefore,  in- 
terpreted as  purely  imaginative  creations. 
Strangely  enough,  identical  dreams  were  fre- 
quently repeated.  The  dream  records  were 
taken  verbatim  from  the  patient  and  one  of 
these  is   as   follows: 

"  One  dream  stands  out  very  clear.  This 
was  several  weeks  ago.  It  seems  as  if  a  man 
and  woman   came   to   see  me,   and   they   told 

*lsador  H.  Coriat,  "The  Lowell  Case  of  Amnesia."— /(wrnol 
Abnormal  Psychology,  VoL  II,  No.  3,  August-September,  1907. 


150    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

me  they  were  relatives  of  mine  and  were 
willing  to  take  care  of  me.  So  they  sent  me 
off  with  them,  and  we  travelled  quite  a  dis- 
tance. On  part  of  the  road  there  seemed  to  he 
trees  growing  on  both  sides,  not  very  close  to- 
gether, and  after  a  time  they  came  to  a  house, 
and  after  they  took  me  inside  the  man  com- 
menced to  beat  me  and  the  woman  to  pull  my 
hair  out.  The  man  had  coarse  whiskers,  and 
I  think  I'd  know  the  woman  if  I  should  see 
her."  This  dream  was  repeated  several  times 
in  an  identical  manner.  As  an  interesting 
and  valuable  sequel  to  the  above,  one  after- 
noon later  in  the  year  the  patient  was  taken 
for  a  drive  to  her  old  home,  in  an  effort  to  ascer- 
tain if  she  could  recognize  any  of  the  scenes 
of  her  childhood  and  early  youth.  But  every- 
thing was  strange  and  unfamiliar  to  her;  the 
old  cemetery,  a  former  schoolmate  who  was 
encountered  in  the  village  road,  and  even  the 
building  in  which  she  had  formerly  taught 
school.  She  was  taken  up  the  road  to  the 
house  where  her  brother  and  sister  lived,  and 
on  reaching  it,  she  immediately  said,  "  This 
is  the  house  of  my  dreams.  I  can  see  very 
plainly  the  man  dragging  me  off  the  wagon 
and  the  woman  pulling  my  hair  up  those  two 
steps  and  through  the  piazza  into  the  kitchen  in 
the  back."    On  being  confronted  by  her  sister. 


DREAMS  151 

the  patient  exclaimed,  "  That  is  the  woman  of 
my  dream,"  and  although  immediately  recog- 
nized by  her  sister,  Susan  N.  disclaimed  all 
knowledge  of  her  and  was  very  frigid  in  her 
manner.  In  sleep,  the  patient  had  merely  re- 
produced an  episode  which  had  occurred  during 
her  past  life  previous  to  the  stupor.  While 
sleeping,  there  was  no  dissociation,  consciousness 
was  completely  synthetized.  As  she  had  no 
memory  of  this  episode  in  her  waking  state,  it 
was  interpreted  as  merely  a  dream. 

In  Sidis's  case  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hanna,  many 
of  the  lost  memories  appeared  during  dreams.^ 
In  this  case,  as  in  that  of  Susan  N.,  the  patient 
had  lost  all  memory  of  his  life  experiences. 
This  extensive  amnesia  followed  an  accident. 
But  that  the  loss  of  memory  was  only  apparent, 
that  all  the  events  were  retained  in  the  sub- 
conscious mental  life,  as  in  the  Lowell  Case  of 
Amnesia,  was  proved  by  an  extensive  investiga- 
tion. All  the  dreams  of  Mr.  Hanna,  the  places 
spoken  of,  as  well  as  the  persons  mentioned, 
were  fully  identified  by  the  patient's  father. 
Sometimes  the  dream  pictures  were  very  simple. 
On  one  occasion,  he  dreamed  of  "  a  horse  with 
long  ears  and  with  a  tail  like  a  cow.  Never  saw 
anything  like  it.  The  horse  produced  such 
queer  sounds."    The  animal  seen  in  this  dream 

»"  Multiple   Personality,"   1905. 


152     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

was  evidently  a  donkey,  the  patient  not  having 
seen  one  since  the  loss  of  memory  foUoAving  the 
accident.  On  other  occasions,  the  dreams  were 
more  complex  and  related  to  scenes  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania coal  district,  where  the  patient  had 
previously  lived.  Sometimes  he  dreamed  of 
journeys  which  were  actual  experiences  in  his 
former  life.  None  of  these  dreams  were  recog- 
nized as  former  experiences  but  were  interpreted 
as  strange  dreams  of  his  present  life. 

We  have  seen  how  dissociated  experiences 
could  appear  in  sleep  and  how  the  subject  would 
interpret  these  experiences,  on  awakening,  as 
mere  idle  dreams.  There  is  another  aspect  of 
the  question  that  must  be  briefly  considered.  In 
more  complex  cases  of  mental  dissociation  lead- 
ing to  multiple  personality,  do  the  waking  ex- 
periences of  these  personalities  appear  during 
sleep?  It  has  been  shown  that  in  sleep,  there 
is  a  more  or  less  complete  synthesis  of  the  lost 
memories  which  are  interpreted  as  dreams. 
Does  the  same  thing  take  place  in  multiple 
personality?  Are  the  dreams  of  the  different 
personalities  the  same,  no  matter  how  different 
the  experiences  of  the  waking  life?  Let  us  see. 
In  the  case  of  Miss  Beauchamp,^  who  developed 
four  distinct  personalities,  each  with  a  distinct 
and   separate   mental   life   durinsr  the   waking 

» Morton  Prince:  "  The  Dissociation  of  a  Personality,"  1905. 


DREAMS  158 

state,  it  was  shown  that  in  sleep  two  of  the 
personalities,  called  B.  I.  and  B.  IV.,  "  reverted 
to  a  common  consciousness  and  became  one  and 
the  same.  That  is  to  say,  the  dreams  were  com- 
mon to  both;  each,  B.  I.  and  B.  IV.,  had  the 
same  dreams,  and  each  remembered  them  after- 
wards as  her  own."  These  dreams  were  well 
remembered  and  recorded  by  "  Sally,"  one  of 
the  personalities,  who,  according  to  her  own 
statement,  was  awake  the  greater  part  of  the 
night. 

Occasionally  dream  states  will  show  a  peculiar 
periodicity,  in  that  they  are  liable  to  occur  at 
certain  times,  the  interval  being  entirely  free 
from  dreaming.  This  recurrent  dream  state 
was  particularly  well  marked  in  one  of  my 
cases.  It  related  to  a  young  woman  who  began 
to  have  distressing  dreams  in  the  form  of  night- 
mares, following  the  death  of  her  mother. 
These  dreams  showed  a  peculiar  cycle,  in  that 
they  reappeared  every  few  weeks  and  would 
continue  for  several  nights.  The  dream  never 
occurred  in  the  interval.  Each  dream  was 
identical,  the  content  being  about  as  follows: 

"  I  dreamed  that  I  was  out  walking  with  my  mother, 
near  the  place  where  she  died.  I  walked  to  the  top  of 
the  hill,  looked  around  and  came  down,  holding  on  to 
my  mother's  arm.  Suddenly  my  mother  fell  fainting. 
I  tried  to  cry  out,  but  could  not  make  a  sound.    I  ran 


154    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS       i 

to  the  house  to  get  assistance,  but  I  came  back  alone 
and  found  that  my  mother  had  grown  old  and  haggard- 
looking  and  was  dressed  in  black.    Then  I  woke  up." 

Hysterical  paralyses  and  contractures  som^ 
times  follow  a  dream.  Under  these  conditions, 
the  subject  dreams  of  the  identical  paralysis  or 
contracture  which  comes  on  after  awakening. 
Whether  the  dissociated  state  of  a  purely 
imaginary  dream  is  projected  into  the  waking 
life  or  whether  an  emotional  shock  occurs  dur- 
ing the  awakening,  is  dissociated  in  sleep  and 
reproduced  as  a  dream,  is  a  question  that  con- 
not  be  answered  with  certainty  until  we  have 
more  data  on  these  curious  phenomena.  In  a 
case  reported  by  Janet,  the  patient  developed  a 
contracture  of  the  hands  following  a  vivid 
dream  of  piano  playing.  In  another  the  sub- 
ject dreamed  that  he  was  falling  and  awoke  to 
find  a  beginning  paralysis  of  the  right  arm  and 
leg.  That  his  paralysis  was  purely  functional 
in  nature  was  demonstrated  by  further  investi- 
gation. In  a  case  of  hysterical  paralysis  which 
came  under  personal  observation,  the  following 
curious  condition  was  present.  While  walking, 
the  patient  would  suddenly  experience  a  sense 
of  severe  weakness  in  the  legs,  then  there  would 
follow  a  sensation  "  as  if  I  had  no  legs,"  and 
she  would  fall.     These  episodes  would  occur  a 


DREAMS  165 

number  of  times  during  the  day,  but  only  when 
the  patient  was  walking.  On  further  analysis, 
it  appeared  that  there  was  no  history  of  an 
emotional  shock,  but  during  the  week  previous 
to  her  first  attack,  she  dreamed  that  she  was 
walking  down  a  hill,  then  suddenly  fell  down 
and  landed  full  length  on  her  face.  This  sensa- 
tion of  falling  did  not  awaken  the  patient  at 
once,  but  when  she  did  awaken,  she  felt  per- 
fectly normal.  The  dream  was  not  repeated, 
but  a  week  elapsed  before  the  weakness  of  the 
legs  developed.  Here  we  have  a  condition 
almost  identical  with  the  cases  reported  by 
Janet. 

Let  us  now  take  an  ordinary  dream  and  at- 
tempt to  trace  out  a  portion  of  the  elements 
which  enter  into  the  dream  consciousness.  As 
an  example,  I  take  the  following  dream  related 
by  one  of  my  patients:  "I  dreamed  that  I  was 
walking  through  the  snow  with  L.  The  snow 
was  up  to  my  knees.  I  went  into  a  house  to  get 
a  hat  made,  and  I  went  into  another  house  near 
by.  When  I  came  into  the  house,  I  saw  two 
bedrooms;  one  was  my  room  and  the  other  be- 
longed to  some  one  else.  These  two  bedrooms 
were  off  the  hall.  As  I  went  into  my  own  bed- 
room, I  passed  by  the  open  door  of  the  other. 
An  old  lady  lay  in  bed — dying.  I  went  to  bed 
and  slept  in  my  dream.    Then  the  dying  worn- 


156    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

an's  mother,  who  appeared  to  be  already  dead, 
came  to  me  in  my  sleep.  She  was  dressed  in 
white  and  had  long  claw-like  nails.  The  hands 
and  fingers  were  pure  white.  She  awakened 
me  by  clawing  at  me  and  I  awakened  in  my 
dream.  Then  she  grinned  at  me,  but  I  was 
very  sleepy  and  only  opened  my  eyes  for  a  mo- 
ment and  tried  to  raise  my  hand  and  beckon 
her  to  go  away." 

In  tracing  the  principal  elements  of  this 
dream,  the  following  instigators  are  found. 
These  instigators  were  woven  into  the  dream 
fantasy  and  their  analysis  will  enable  one  to 
fathom  the  external  causes  of  the  dream,  but 
not  the  unconscious  or  latent  thoughts  giving 
rise  to  the  dream. 

"  Walking  through  the  snow  ":  The  weather 
was  very  warm  on  that  day,  the  patient  had 
read  a  poem  on  snow  in  a  newspaper,  with 
an  editorial  comment  on  the  contrast  in  the 
weather. 

''  To  get  a  hat  made  ":  The  sister  of  the  L. 
dreamed  about  was  a  milliner. 

"An  old  lady  lay  in  bed  dying  ":  The  mother 
of  the  patient  had  recently  been  ill  in  bed, 
following  a  surgical  operation. 

"Long  claw-like  finger  nails":  The  patient 
had  been  recently  interested  in  antique  furni- 
ture with  claw  legs. 


DREAMS  157 

Dream-like  hallucinations  are  the  frequent 
accompaniment  of  the  intoxication  by  certain 
drugs,  particularly  alcohol,  opium,  and  hashish. 
The  distorted  state  of  consciousness  produced 
by  these  poisons  bears  a  strong  relationship 
to  ordinary  dreaming.  Under  these  conditions, 
also,  the  dreams  are  merely  distorted  experi- 
ences. Readers  of  De  Quincey  will  remember 
how  all  the  minute  incidents  of  his  life,  his  stud- 
ies in  literature  and  philosophy,  furnished  the 
key  to  "  that  tremendous  scenery  which  after- 
ward peopled  the  dreams  of  the  opium  eater." 
The  same  fact  holds  true  of  the  dreams  of 
the  hashish  habitue,  as  related  in  the  Artificial 
Paradise  of  Baudelaire.  One  of  my  patients 
furnished  me  with  a  very  vivid  written  account 
of  his  dream-like  hallucinations,  on  recovery 
from  an  attack  of  delirium  tremens.  The  fan- 
tastic and  shifting  character  of  this  narrative 
and  its  distortion  of  actual  experiences  is  prac- 
tically a  dream,  but  a  dream  experienced  dur- 
ing an  abnormal  alcoholic  delirium  and  not  dur- 
ing a  normal  sleep.  In  part  it  is  as  follows — 
"  There  was  a  face  at  every  post  and  every  time 
I'd  go  by  they'd  swear  and  gibe  at  me  for  what 
I  had  done  during  life.  These  faces  made  me  a 
promise  that  if  I'd  shake  hands  with  a  certain 
fellow,  they'd  give  me  peace  and  wouldn't  tor- 
ment me.     So  finally  this  fellow  came  along 


158     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

and  I  remember  shaking  hands  with  him,  and 
after  that  those  voices  asked  me  if  I  wanted  to 
stay  on  earth  and  work  or  go  with  them  to  the 
Father  above.  So  they  finally  persuaded  me  to 
follow  them.  Then  they  asked  me  to  relate  all 
my  life  and  I  started  to  tell  them  from  the 
cradle  to  the  grave.  I  wouldn't  have  to  speak 
or  talk,  before  they'd  divine  it.  Two  spirits 
conversed  with  each  other.  One  was  supposed 
to  be  God.  As  soon  as  I'd  try  to  hesitate  on 
any  part  of  my  life  that  I  wouldn't  like  ex- 
posed, they  seemed  to  say  *  Now  he  hesitates.' 
All  during  this  time  there  was  a  mumbling 
sound,  as  if  we  were  riding  in  a  chariot,  and 
we  heard  electrical  music  on  all  sides,  and  I 
related  my  history  from  the  cradle.  I  felt  mov- 
ing all  the  time.  Every  moment  or  so,  a  friend 
or  a  face  that  I  had  forgotten  appeared  and 
greeted  me,  until  finally  an  angel  opened  a  trap 
above  and  showed  us  something  grand  beyond — 
music,  angels,  flowers,  and  every  one  seemed 
clothed  in  a  garb  of  gold.  Then  all  became 
darkness  again  and  spirits  appeared.  We  felt 
them  in  the  vacuum  around  us  and  voices  kept 
telling  us  that  our  journey  was  getting  shorter, 
and  at  a  certain  stage  I  was  shown  my  mother, 
and  she  told  me  that  we  would  soon  meet  to 
part  no  more.  So  we  reached  a  place  where 
our  friends  all  gathered  around  us  and  they 


DREAMS  159 

said  that  on  the  morrow  we  would  see  eternal 
light.  But  the  angel  said  that  moments  were 
counted  in  thousands  of  years.  All  our  flesh 
and  blood  was  to  fade  away.  The  spirit  of  a 
girl  that  I  had  been  going  with  was  there  and 
she  was  to  take  my  place  when  I  faded  away. 
During  this  time  the  gasps  of  the  dying  could 
be  heard  and  I  was  left  alone  with  the  spirit  of 
this  girl.  Finally  a  voice  shouted,  *  Tom,  you'll 
be  there  to-morrow.  Throw  away  your  earthly 
possessions.'  Then  the  darkness  disappeared 
and  then,  as  though  by  magic,  the  Wonderland 
of  Heaven  appeared  to  me.  The  sky  was  sap- 
phire blue,  studded  with  diamonds  and  there 
was  a  vast  amphitheatre  and  beings  clothed  in 
gold,  emerald,  and  precious  stones." 

The  dreams  of  the  blind  have  furnished  us 
interesting  proof  of  the  dependence  of  dreams 
on  waking  sensory  experiences.  It  was  shown 
by  Jastrow  that  if  the  blindness  took  place  be- 
fore the  seventh  year,  the  dreams  were  never 
of  the  visual  type;  if  after  the  seventh  year,  the 
dreams  were  very  likely  to  be  the  same  as  those 
of  a  seeing  individual.  In  Laura  Bridgman, 
the  blind  deaf  mute,  sight  and  hearing  were  as 
absent  from  her  dreams  as  from  the  waking 
world.  For  instance,  if  she  dreamed  of  an  ani- 
mal she  became  aware  of  its  presence  only  when 
it  touched  her.    The  value  of  educational  experi- 


160    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

ences  in  dreams  is  well  exemplified  in  the  ac- 
counts of  the  dreams  of  Helen  Keller,  prepared 
for  Professor  Jastrow.  For  instance,  she  says, 
"  My  dreams  have  strangely  changed  during  the 
past  twelve  years.  Before  and  after  my  teacher 
first  came  to  me,  they  were  devoid  of  sound  or 
thought  or  emotion  of  any  kind,  except  fear, 
and  only  came  in  the  form  of  sensations.  .  .  . 
I  dreamed  of  a  wolf,  which  seemed  to  rush  to- 
wards me  and  put  his  cruel  teeth  deep  into  my 
body.  I  could  not  speak  .  .  .  and  I  tried 
to  scream;  but  no  sound  escaped  from  my 
lips.  .  .  .  Occasionally  I  dream  that  I  am 
reading  with  my  fingers,  either  Braille  or  line 
print."  Later,  when  oral  speech  was  estab- 
lished through  education,  talking  in  the  finger 
alphabet  disappeared  from  her  dreams. 


CHAPTER  VII 

FEEUD*S  THEOEY  OF  DREAMS 

Freud  states  that  the  dream  furnishes  the 
royal  road  to  a  knowledge  of  the  unconscious 
and  thus  the  psychology  of  dream  stands 
out  in  the  center  of  the  psycho-analytic  the- 
ory and  of  the  mechanism  of  unconscious 
mental  states.  In  fact,  Freud's  investigations 
of  dreams  furnish  the  chief  technical  procedures 
for  psycho-analysis.  Dream  interpretation  is 
very  difficult,  however,  it  is  not  only  a  science, 
but  also  an  art.  Without  previous  training  one 
cannot  hope  to  succeed  in  the  analysis  of  dreams. 
Freud  was  led  to  the  scientific  study  of  dreams, 
because  in  the  earlier  stages  of  his  analytic  treat- 
ment of  the  psycho-neuroses,  or  as  it  was  then 
termed  the  cathartic  method,  he  found  that  his 
patients  frequently  related  strange,  distorted 
and  bizarre  dreams.  Further  investigation 
demonstrated  that  these  dreams  had  the  same 
roots  in  the  unconscious  mental  life  of  the  pa- 
tient as  the  psycho-neurotic  symptoms  them- 
selves, and  consequently,  the  technique  for  the 
analysis  and  meaning  of  dreams  was  elaborated, 

161 


162     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

In  other  words,  the  same  unconscious  mechan- 
ism was  responsible  for  the  creation  of  both 
dreams  and  symptoms  and  thus  the  dreams 
furnished  the  best  means  for  the  analysis  and 
treatment  of  the  symptoms. 

What,  then,  is  the  mechanism  through  which 
the  logical,  unconscious  thoughts  become  trans- 
formed to  an  illogical  and  apparently  mean- 
ingless dream?  In  answer  to  this  question,  the 
technique  of  the  dream  analysis  was  elaborated 
and  its  mechanisms  were  investigated.  The  in- 
terpretation of  a  dream  may  thus  be  compared 
in  accuracy  and  even  in  difficulty  to  the  de- 
cipherment of  a  hieroglyphic  or  a  cuneiform 
inscription.  For  as  these  latter  are  merely 
symbols  of  phonetic  values  and  consequently 
of  a  once  living  language,  so  the  dream  is  a 
symbol  of  the  active  and  even  remote  uncon- 
scious thoughts  of  the  dreamer.  As  a  hiero- 
glyphic cannot  be  read  without  the  aid  of  a 
special  technique  and  knowledge,  so  the  inter- 
pretation of  dreams  requires  an  equally  well- 
equipped  training.  In  the  dream  we  are  deal- 
ing with  several  elements,  such  as  unconscious 
repressed  impulses  and  wishes,  dating  back  at 
times  to  the  earhest  years  of  childhood  and 
usually  of  a  sexual  nature,  interwoven  with 
events  of  the  day  or  with  physical  stimuli  aris- 
ing during  sleep.     The  unraveling  of  the  com- 


FREUD'S  THEORY  OF  DREAMS     16S 

plex  dream  phenomena,  and  discovering  a  cer- 
tain law  and  order  in  the  heterogeneous  fantasy 
of  the  dream,  presupposes  a  high  degree  of  tech- 
nical skill  which  can  only  be  acquired  through 
long  experience. 

Therefore,  on  the  surface,  the  dream  as  re- 
membered in  the  morning  does  not  say  what  it 
means.  The  dream  itself  as  remembered  (called 
the  manifest  content),  is  formed  from  the  un- 
derlying unconscious  thoughts  (called  the  la- 
tent content)  of  the  subject.  Thus  what  we  re- 
call of  a  dream  in  the  morning  is  the  illogical 
manifest  content  and  not  the  orderly  uncon- 
scious thoughts  or  latent  content,  which  latter 
alone  betrays  the  true  nature  of  the  dream. 
Thus  the  real  dream  forming  mechanisms,  the 
unconscious  thoughts  of  the  dreamer,  can  only 
be  disclosed  by  psycho-analysis  because  a  dream 
may  express,  as  it  so  frequently  does,  painful 
or  repressed  thoughts,  which  are  sent  in  dis- 
guised and  unrecognized  form  into  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  sleeper.  Because  of  this  dis- 
guise the  underlying  dream  thoughts  are  un- 
recognized and  do  not  disturb  the  dreamer,  and 
thus  the  dream  becomes  really  the  protector  and 
not  the  disturber  of  sleep.  This  is  due  to  the 
action  of  what  is  termed  the  censorship  of  con- 
sciousness which  acts  on  the  unconscious 
thoughts,  and  forces  them,  for  the  protection 


16*  EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

of  the  sleeper,  to  adopt  a  distorted  or  sym- 
bolized form. 

The  mechanisms  by  which  the  manifest  con- 
tent of  the  dream  is  developed  for  the  under- 
lying (unconscious)  dream  thoughts  for  the 
purpose  of  disguise  and  symbolization,  may  be 
grouped  under  four  headings,  viz. — condensa- 
tion, displacement,  dramatization,  and  second- 
ary elaboration.  ^j^^ 

A  dream  is  brief,  ^ven  its  elements  are  brief 
and  certain  figures  of  a  dream  may  be  fused 
together,  like  the  faces  in  a  composite  photo- 
graph. Sometimes  this  fusion  is  very  elaborate 
and  hence,  when  the  figure  is  analyzed,  one 
finds  that  it  represents  an  entire  series  of  under- 
lying thoughts.  For  instance,  a  subject 
dreamed  that  he  was  walking  in  a  public  square 
with  a  girl  whom  he  failed  to  recognize.  An- 
alysis of  the  girl  in  the  dream,  showed  her  to 
be  a  condensation  or  a  blending  of  several  male 
and  female  friends — namely: — 

1.  The  subject's  fiancee. 

2.  A  recent  female  acquaintance. 

8.  One  of  his  boy  friends  whom  he  had  not 
seen  for  years. 

4.  A  photograph  of  an  actress  whom  he  had 
recently  seen. 

Therefore,  this  fragmentary  dream  condensed 
or  blended  a  number  of  the  subjects,  thoughts, 


FREUD'S  THEORY  OF  DREAMS     165 

and  mental  processes.  For  instance,  a  dream  it- 
self may  occupy  merely  a  couple  of  lines  or  half 
a  page,  while  the  analysis  may  take  several  or 
even  a  dozen  pages,  so  marked  does  the  con- 
densation frequently  become.  In  addition  this 
condensation  is  also  shown  in  that  the  dream 
which  we  remember  on  awakening  may  rep- 
resent only  a  remnant  of  the  total  dream. 
Sometimes  the  condensation  may  express  a 
profound  wish  of  the  subject  or  again,  it  may 
be  a  pun.  This  condensation  of  several  sub- 
jects shows  that  the  dream  is  over-determined, 
— in  other  words  one  figure  or  word  in  a  dream 
may  denote  a  manifold  representation  of  the 
dream  thoughts.  A  rather  pretty  example  is 
the  following  dream.  The  dreamer  seemed  to 
see  a  new  book  upon  the  table  with  the  title 
*lBragmatism "  and  under  it,  the  name  of  a 
friend  who  was  the  author  of  the  book.  An- 
alysis of  this  dream  showed  the  following.  The 
friend  had  planned  to  write  a  book  on  "  Prag- 
matism "  and  had  frequently  spoken  of  the 
book  at  length.  Thus  the  title  on  the  book 
was  obviously  a  condensation  of  two  words 
"  Brag  "  and  "  Pragmatism,"  which  by  a  proc- 
ess of  displacement  of  the  letter  P,  by  the  letter 
B,  had  been  transformed  and  expressed  the 
attitude  of  the  author  of  the  projected  book. 
Condensation,    therefore,    is    a   mechanism   by 


166    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

which  similarity  or  identity  between  several  ele- 
ments in  the  latent  content  of  the  dream,  finds 
its  expression  in  the  manifest  content,  probably 
for  the  purpose  of  evading  the  censor.  Thus 
in  this  dream,  we  see  the  same  mechanism  at 
work  as  Freud  postulated  in  his  theory  of 
wit — ^namely  a  condensation  leading  to  a  play 
upon  words. 

The  second  distorting  mechanism  is  termed 
displacement.  Condensation  and  displacement 
^e  the  two  principal  distorting  mechanisms 
taking  place  in  dreams  in  the  passage  from  the 
latent  to  the  manifest  content.  Dream  dis- 
placement is  one  of  the  chief  means  for  pro- 
ducing disfigurement  of  a  dream.  Displace- 
ment changes  important  unconscious  thoughts 
or  wishes  to  something  insignificant,  conceals 
the  reasons  of  the  dream  and  this  tends  to  ren- 
der more  unrecognizable  the  connection  between 
dream  content  and  dream  thoughts.  The  chang- 
ing of  the  letter  P  to  B  in  the  dream  analyzed 
above,  is  a  pretty  example  of  displacement  as 
well  as  of  condensation.  In  certain  dreams 
showing  the  CEdipus-complex,  the  figure  of  the 
parent  is  sometimes  displaced  by  an  indifferent 
individual  due  to  the  action  of  the  censor. 
When  Alice  in  "  Alice  in  Wonderland  "  refers 
to  studying  "  mystery  "  and  "  seaography,"  we 
have  again  an  example  of  dream  displacement. 


FREUD'S  THEORY  OF  DREAMS     167 

The  third  mechanism  of  dream  distortion, 
termed  dramatization,  is  the  process  by  which 
the  dream  thoughts  assmne  a  dramatic  form,  in 
other  words,  in  a  dream,  past,  present,  and  even 
future  wishes  may  be  unrolled  in  a  most  dra- 
matic manner. 

The  fourth  mechanism,  termed  secondary 
elaboration,  arises  more  from  the  unconscious 
mental  processes  than  from  the  underlying 
dream  thoughts.  It  tries  to  make  sense  and 
iionnection  out  of  the  dream  or  it  may  make  a 
concession  to  conscious  thinking.  This  conces- 
sion to  conscious  thinking  is  often  seen  in  a 
dream  within  a  dream,  as  when  the  dreamer  says  ; 
to  himself,  "  Why,  it  is  all  a  dream."  The  best  | 
examples  of  this  are  seen  in  so-called  self-in- 
terpreted dreams.  For  instance,  in  one  case,  a 
patient  dreamed  that  he  took  a  certain  dream  to  / 
me  and  I  analyzed  it  (all  in  the  dream) .  It  so 
turned  out,  that  the  analysis  given  in  the  dream 
was  the  one  which  the  patient  himself  desired, 
in  other  words,  the  wish  of  the  dreamer  was 
completely  fulfilled. 

Thus  a  dream  is  a  many-sided  and  complex 
conscious  and  unconscious  process.  Not  only 
do  these  mental  processes  take  part  in  the  elabo- 
ration of  a  dream,  but  external  stimuli  during 
the  night  (such  as  pressure  of  the  bedclothes 
or  the  exposure  of  certain  portions  of  the  body) 


168     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

and  recent,  even  insignificant  episodes  and  con- 
versations enter  into  and  are  woven  into  the 
dream.  Likewise  in  many  dreams  an  analysis 
will  disclose  many  of  the  remote  happenings, 
mental  conflicts,  and  wishes  of  early  childhood. 
The  transformation  of  all  these  adult  and  in- 
fantile unconscious  thoughts  into  the  dream, 
combined  with  the  conscious  thoughts  and  ex- 
ternal stimuli,  the  so-called  process  of  dream- 
making,  is  a  complex  mental  process  and  not  a 
mere  physiological  automatism.  The  entire 
psychical  complex  may  thus  be  reconstructed 
through  the  data  furnished  by  the  psycho- 
analysis of  dreams  and  all  its  apparently  heter- 
ogeneous phenomena  thus  fall  into  certain  law 
and  order.  It  is  here  that  the  validity  of  de- 
terminism comes  in,  as  demonstrating  that  a 
dream,  like  an  hysterical  symptom,  is  not  a 
chance  phenomenon,  but  is  conditioned  or  made 
by  a  group  of  psychical  and  physical  stimuli, 
often  unknown  to  the  subject.  Thus  a  dream 
represents  processes  of  great  psychical  signifi- 
cance to  the  subject,  for  within  the  dream  itself 
as  remembered  there  is  hidden  the  latent  dream 
material,  which  may  be  roused  to  activity 
through  various  stimuli. 

We  now  come  to  the  central  point  of  Freud's 
theory,  the  point  which  has  aroused  the  greatest 
amount  of  discussion  and  antagonism,  namely, 
(of 


FREUD'S  THEORY  OF  DREAMS     169 

that  the  dream  represents  the  fulfillment  of  a 
wish.  This  wish  may  be  very  clear  in  children's 
dreams,  since  children  are  not  actuated  by 
severe  mental  conflicts  and  have  no  desire,  from 
moral  or  ethical  standpoints  or  for  social  con-  r  a!L\ 
ventionalities,  to  hide  the  wish  elements  in  their  ,  ^ 

dreams.  In  their  waking  moments  likewise, 
children  do  not  attempt  to  hide  or  symbolize 
their  thoughts  and  therefore  their  language  and 
actions,  like  their  dreams,  is  free  from  disguise.  f^tEH^' 
For  instance,  a  little  girl  who  was  living  under 
conditions  of  poverty,  dreamed  one  night  of 
having  a  magnificent  dining-room  in  her  home  ^  . 

and  the  dining-table  was  filled  with  dishes  of  '^^^^  ^  ^ 
fine  china  loaded  with  eatables.    Here  the  wish         V 
element  was  clear  and  undisguised.     It  is  for 
this  reason  that  fairy-tales  appeal  to  children, 
for  the  child's   imagination   is   essentially   and  ^ 

pre-eminently  a  wish-imagination  and  the  child's 
wishes  are  fulfilled  by  the  fantasy  of  the  tales.  .  ^^^ 

In  fact  the  central  content  of  most  fairy-tales     '      ._ 
(for  instance  the  tale  of  Aladdin  and  the  won- 
derful lamp   or  the   fairy  godmother   in   Cin-    ^  ,    , .  . 
derella)  are  wishes  and  subserve  the  purpose  of '^J'         "" 
fulfilling    the    child's    imagination.      Primitive    ..^    '_  *' 
races  are  essentially  like  children  m  this  respect.   K'i)',^Vi 
In  adult  dreams  the  wish  fulfillment  of  the    -    ^3 ' 
dream  forms  its  central  nucleus,  provided  the        ^''^'Xi^ 
dream  be  sufficiently  analyzed  or  the  resistance  ^ 


170    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

of  the  subject  is  such  that  an  analysis  can  be 
carried  out.  In  fact,  the  wish  in  adult  dreams 
is  hidden  within  the  manifest  content  of  the 
dream.  The  wish  in  adults  may  be  a  recent  one 
or  may  extend  far  back  to  the  earliest  years  of 
childhood,  such  as  the  dreams  of  nakedness  or 
those  of  the  death  of  near  or  dear  relatives.  It 
is  not  necessary  that  the  wish  be  present  now,  it 
is  sufficient  if  it  existed,  even  temporarily,  at 
some  remotely  early  period  of  the  individual's 
life.  For  this  reason  a  dream  is  often  referred 
to  as  a  child  slumbering  in  the  adult  uncon- 
scious. Stammerers,  for  instance,  will  often 
dream  of  talking  freely  in  company  or  making 
speeches.  In  another  case,  the  subject  had  re- 
cently read  a  newspaper  account  of  how  a  cer- 
tain acquaintance  had  married  his  wife's  nurse, 
the  wife  having  died  about  a  year  previously. 
The  news  awakened  an  emotion  of  disgust  in 
her  and  that  night  she  dreamed  that  the  wife 
was  alive  and  well  and  that  she  no  longer  needed 
the  services  of  this  particular  nurse.  This  is 
an  example  of  a  pure  wish  dream,  although 
that  wish  was  at  no  time  in  the  consciousness 
of  the  dreamer,  yet  it  existed  in  her  unconscious 
thoughts  and  fulfilled  itself  in  the  dream. 

Mercutio's  Queen  Mab  speech  in  Romeo  and 
Juliet,  is  a  beautiful  example  of  a  poet's  insight 
into  the  wish  mechanism  of  dreams.     The  par- 


FREUD'S  THEORY  OF  DREAMS     171 

son,  the  soldier,  the  lover,  fulfills  in  his  dreams 
the  wish  fantasies  of  his  waking  life.  The 
instigator  of  each  dream  is  individual  and  is 
transformed  by  the  sleeper  into  his  character- 
istic dream  wish. 

"  In  this  state  she  gallops  night  by  night 
Through  lovers'  brains,  and  then  they  dream  of  love ; 
O'er    courtiers'    knees,    that    dream    on    court'sies 

straight ; 
O'er    lawyers'  fingers,  who  straight  dream  on  fees; 
O'er  ladies'  lips,  who  straight  on  kisses  dream. 
Which  oft  the  angry  Mab  with  blisters  plagues 
Because  their  breaths  with  sweetmeats  tainted  are: 
Sometime  she  gallops  o'er  a  courtier's  nose. 
And  then  dreams  he  of  smelling  out  a  suit ; 
And  sometime  comes  she  with  a  tithe-pig's  tail 
Tickling  a  parson's  nose  as  'a  lies  asleep. 
Then  dreams  he  of  another  benefice : 
Sometime  she  driveth  o'er  a  soldier's  neck. 
And  then  dreams  he  of  cutting  foreign  throats. 
Of  breaches,  ambuscadoes,  Spanish  blades. 
Of  healths  five  fathom  deep :  and  then  anon 
Drums  in  his  ear,  at  which  he  starts  and  wakes. 
And,  being  thus  frighted,  swears  a  prayer  or  two, 
And  sleeps  again." 
/f  H  \  ;    i   (Romeo  and  Juliet — Act  I.,  Scene  IV.) 

A  patient  suffering  from  antianxiety  neurosis 
who  came  under  my  treatment,  had  one  night 
the  following  fragmentary  dream.^ 

'  For  obvious  reasons  in  none  of  the  dreams  analyzed  in  this 
chapter,  can  the  various  steps  of  the  psycho-analytic  technique  be 
given. 


172    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

Dream — He  seemed  to  be  losing  his  hair  and  ] 
becoming  very  bald  and  he  was  attempting  to  , 
overcome  this  baldness  by  the  use  of  a  hair  tonic.    ] 

Analysis — In  the  dream,  he  was  greatly  dis- 
turbed emotionally  over  the  loss  of  the  hair, 
because  he  felt  that  this  would  make  a  marked 
change  in  his  appearance.  It  could  be  shown, 
however,  after  the  analysis  had  been  carried 
further,  that  this  emotional  reaction  in  the 
dream  was  all  out  of  proportion  to  the  idea  of 
baldness,  in  other  words,  it  was  overdetermined. 
The  patient  was  a  sufferer  from  a  severe 
anxiety  neurosis  and  the  nervous  disturbance 
was  associated  in  his  mind,  because  of  the  symp- 
toms of  fear  characteristic  of  his  disease,  with 
physical  weakness.  Growing  old  likewise  meant 
to  him  increasing  physical  infirmity  and  bald- 
ness and  therefore  the  baldness  in  the  dream 
symbolized  this  physical  infirmity.  The  tonic  in 
the  dream  was  an  attempt  to  grow  the  hair 
(in  other  words  to  strengthen  that  which  sym- 
bolized physical  infirmity  and  weakness).  The 
dream,  therefore,  represents  a  concealed  wish 
for  retaining  his  physical  power  and  was  sym- 
bolized by  the  manifest  content  of  a  fear  of 
change  in  his  personal  appearance.  The  latent  ^ 
content  of  the  dream,  however,  was  a  wish  to 
retain  his  physical  strengtli,  and  in  the  dream 
there  was  an  attempt  to  fulfill  this  wish. 


FREUD'S  THEORY  OF  DREAMS     178 

One  thing  is  noticeable  in  this  dream  analysis, 
namely,  the  resemblance  of  the  dream  to  the 
Samson  legend.  Thus  the  symbolism  of  both 
myths  and  dreams  has  its  roots  in  the  uncon- 
scious, in  one  case  that  of  the  individual,  in  the 
other  in  the  fantasies  of  the  race.  Samson  loses 
his^  strength  when  he  loses  his  hair;  the  same 
symbolism  is  found  in  the  above  dream. 

The  fact  that  the  wish  mechanism  is  the  chief 
function  of  the  unconscious,  has,  as  previously 
stated,  aroused  a  storm  of  protest.  But  we 
must  remember  that  one  of  the  most  important 
elements  of  our  mental  functioning  is  ambition 
or  desire,  which  we  gratify  in  two  different 
ways,  either  fulfilling  it  in  reality,  which  is  the 
most  difficult,  or  gratifying  it  in  fancies  or  rev- 
eries. Thus  the  basis  of  all  fantasy,  of  all 
reality,  is  to  achieve  a  certain  end,  in  other 
words,  a  desire  or  a  wish.  Therefore,  the 
Freudian  term  of  "  wish,"  like  the  term  "  sex," 
is  used  in  a  broad  sense,  as  denoting  all  kinds 
of  desires,  strivings,  and  ambitions.  If  the  wish 
is  repressed  and  cannot  be  fulfilled  in  reality, 
it  may  break  out  as  an  hysterical  symptom, 
which  is  often  merely  a  symbolized  wish  fulfill- 
ment. A  wish,  conscious  or  unconscious,  which 
cannot  be  fulfilled  in  life  because  of  social  con- 
ventionalities or  ethical  or  moral  considerations, 
may  often  appear  as  fulfilled  in  a  dream. 


174    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

Thus  the  basic  characteristic  of  a  dream,  when 
one  succeeds  in  penetrating  through  psycho- 
analysis from  the  manifest  content  to  the  latent 
dream  thoughts,  is  a  wish  fulfillment,  in  many 
cases  an  erotic  wish  fulfillment  which  has  under- 
gone suppression  from  childhood.  This  is  what 
is  meant  when  it  is  stated  that  the  wish  need  not 
be  at  present  in  the  consciousness  of  the  dreamer, 
but  may  have  existed  in  early  childhood  and, 
either  from  ethical  or  moral  or  religious  con- 
siderations, have  undergone  a  suppression  in  the 
unconscious.  Now  the  inhibitory  process  by 
which  certain  wishes  and  desires  are  kept  in  the 
unconscious  and  prevented  from  reaching  con- 
sciousness, is  termed  the  censorship,  and  to  the 
mechanism  itself  the  term  "  censor  of  conscious- 
ness "  has  been  applied.  In  dreams,  the  un- 
conscious thoughts  either  partially  or  com- 
pletely escape  this  censorship,  if  the  former,  the 
manifest  content  of  the  dream  becomes  disguised 
and  highly  symbolized,  if  the  latter,  the  dream 
may  be  literal,  painful,  and  even  wake  the 
sleeper  through  the  anxiety  and  fear  which 
develop.  Thus  the  censor  protects  sleep,  by 
making  the  latent  thoughts  of  the  dreamer  un- 
recognizable. 

Dreams  may  originate  from  emotions  which 
are  common  to  both  individuals  and  mankind. 
This  gives  rise  to  so-called  "  typical  "  dreams 


FREUD'S  THEORY  OF  DREAMS     175 

which  are  composed  of  wishes  common  to  all 
men  and  it  is  these  wishes  which  form  the 
basis  of  myths  and  sagas.  The  typical  dream 
is  frequently  an  infantile  reminiscence,  such  as 
the  dream  of  nakedness  or  the  dream  of  the 
death  of  a  near  and  dear  relative,  usually  a 
parent.  The  typical  dream,  then,  contains 
wishes  which  our  waking  consciousness  will  not 
admit.  Concerning  the  development  of  typical 
dreams  and  their  psycho-analytic  interpretation, 
Abraham  makes  the  following  statement :  ^' 

"  The  child,  up  to  a  certain  age,  is  free  from 
altruistic  feelings.  He  lives  in  a  naive  egoism. 
It  is  throughout  erroneous  to  assume  that  the 
feeling  of  a  child  for  its  parents  and  brothers 
and  sisters  is  from  the  beginning  a  feeling  of 
affection.  On  the  contrary  there  exists  instead 
among  the  children  a  certain  rivalry.  When 
a  second  child  is  bom  the  first,  who  had  been 
an  only  child  up  to  that  time,  clearly  shows 
jealousy  on  account  of  the  attention  paid  to  it 
because  of  its  helplessness.  It  is  quite  usual 
that  a  child  will  not  give  the  bottle  of  milk 
to  the  younger,  that  its  jealousy  is  stirred 
up  when  it  sees  the  newcomer  sitting  on  its 
mother's  lap,  which  was  formerly  only  its  place. 
It  envies  it  its  playthings,  it  emphasizes  its  own 

*K.     Abraham:     "Dreams     and    Myths"— New    York,     1910. 
(Translated  by  Wm.  A.  White.) 


176    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

superiority  when  it  speaks  of  the  younger  one 
to  adults.  The  younger  child  reacts,  as  soon 
as  it  is  in  a  position  to,  in  just  such  an  egoistic 
manner.  It  sees  in  the  elder  an  oppressor  and 
seeks  to  help  itself  as  well  as  its  weakness 
makes  possible.  Under  normal  conditions  these 
contrasts  gradually  disappear  to  a  great  extent. 
They  are  never  wholly  rooted  out  in  spite  of 
all  educational  measures. 

"  This  hostile  attitude  of  one  child  toward 
the  other  finds  its  expression  in  the  wish  that 
the  other  were  dead.  Naturally  it  will  be  dis- 
puted that  a  child  can  be  so  "  bad  "  as  to  wish 
the  other  dead.  Who  says  that  does  not  con- 
sider that  the  idea  of  the  child  of  "  death  "  has 
little  in  common  with  ours  except  the  word 
(Freud).  The  child  has  no  clear  idea  of  the 
death  of  a  person.  It  hears,  perhaps,  that  this 
or  that  relative  has  died,  is  dead.  For  the 
child  that  only  means:  that  person  is  no  longer 
there.  Daily  experience  teaches  us  how  easily 
the  child  gets  over  the  absence  of  a  loved  person. 
It  perhaps  stretches  the  hand  forth  in  the  direc- 
tion in  which  the  mother  has  gone,  it  cries  a 
little  while — then  consoles  itself  with  games  or 
food  and  no  longer  recalls  spontaneously  the 
going  away.  Older  children  of  normal  psychic 
constitution  also  get  over  separation  easily.  In 
early  years  the  child  identifies  death  with  ab- 


1 


FREUD'S  THEORY  OF  DREAMS     177 

sence.  It  cannot  represent  to  itself  that  any- 
one, of  whose  death  it  has  been  told,  will  never 
again  return.  We  understand  now  how  a  child 
in  all  harmlessness  wishes  the  death  of  the  other 
(or  any  other  person).  It  is  its  rivalry:  were 
it  not  so,  then  the  occasion  for  rivalry  and  jeal- 
ousy would  be  removed.  .  .  . 

"  New  opposition  arises  when  we  consider  the 
relation  of  the  child  to  the  parents  from  the 
above  viewpoint.  How  can  one  assume  that 
the  child  wishes  the  death  of  the  father  or  the 
mother?  One  will  at  most  grant  that  in  such 
cases  as  the  abuse  of  the  child  by  the  parents, 
but  will  add  that  these  are  fortunately  excep- 
tional cases  to  which  the  generalization  is  not 
applicable. 

"  The  dream  of  the  death  of  the  mother  or 
the  father,  as  it  occurs  to  everyone,  contains 
the  sought-for  explanation.  Freud  shows  from 
it  that  the  dream  of  the  death  of  parents  is 
preponderatingly  common  concerning  that  one 
of  the  pair  of  the  same  sex  as  the  dreamer,  so 
the  son,  for  the  most  part  dreams  of  the  death 
of  the  father,  the  daughter  of  the  death  of  the 
mother.  This  behavior  is  explained  in  part  as 
due  to  an  early  sexual  preference  of  the  son 
for  the  mother,  the  daughter  for  the  father. 
Out  of  this  preference  grows  a  certain  rivalry 
of  the  son  with  the  father  for  the  love  of  the 


178     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

mother  and  a  similar  situation  between  daughter 
and  mother  for  the  love  of  the  father.  The 
son  rebels  earlier  or  later  against  the  patria 
potestaSj  in  some  cases  openly,  in  others  in- 
wardly. At  the  same  time  the  father  protects 
his  dominance  against  the  growing  son.  A 
similar  relation  occurs  between  mother  and 
daughter.  As  much  as  culture  may  soften  and 
change  this  rivalry,  through  piety  towards  the 
parents,  through  love  of  the  children,  still  its 
traces  cannot  be  extinguished.  In  the  most 
favorable  cases  these  tendencies  become  re- 
pressed in  the  unconscious.  Straightway  they 
express  themselves  in  dreams.  Children  who 
are  disposed  to  nervous  or  psychic  disease,  show 
already  in  the  early  years  a  very  strong  love 
or  a  very  strong  repulsion  towards  the  parents 
or  towards  one  of  them.  In  their  dreams  they 
show  these  tendencies  especially  clearly,  not  less 
clearly,  however,  in  the  symptoms  of  their  later 
disease.  Freud  gives  very  instructive  examples 
of  this  kind.  He  cites,  among  others,  the  case 
of  a  mentally  ill  girl,  who  for  the  first  time,  in 
a  period  of  confusion,  expressed  violent  aversion 
for  her  mother.  As  the  patient  became  clearer 
she  dreamt  of  the  death  of  her  mother.  Finally 
she  no  longer  contented  herself  with  repressing 
in  the  unconscious  her  feelings  against  her 
mother,  but  proceeded  to  over-compensate  for 


FREUD'S  THEORY  OF  DREAMS     179 

that  feeling  by  constructing  a  phobia,  that  is 
a  morbid  fear,  that  something  might  happen  to 
the  mother.  The  aversion  became  transposed, 
the  more  the  patient  gained  composure,  into  an 
excessive  apprehension  about  her  mother's  go- 
ings and  comings. 

"  The  typical  dream  then  contains  wishes 
which  we  in  our  waking  life  will  not  admit.  In 
the  dream  life  these  secret  wishes  find  expres- 
sion. These  wishes,  common  to  many  or  to  all 
mankind,  we  meet  also  in  the  myths.  The  first 
point  of  comparison  to  occupy  us  is,  then,  the 
common  content  of  certain  dreams  and  myths. 
We  must  follow  Freud's  lead  still  further. 
For,  as  mentioned,  he  has  first  analyzed  a  par- 
ticular myth — the  CEdipus  saga — from  the  view- 
point set  forth  in  his  *  Traumdeutung.'  I 
cite  literally  the  following  passage  from 
Freud. 

"  '  CEdipus,  son  of  Laius,  King  of  Thebes,  and 
Jocasta,  was,  as  a  suckling,  exposed,  because  an 
oracle  had  prophesied  to  the  father,  that  the 
yet  unborn  son  would  be  his  murderer.  He  was 
saved  and  grew  up  as  a  king's  son  in  a  strange 
court,  until  he,  uncertain  of  his  origin,  ques- 
tioned the  oracle  himself  and  received  from  it 
the  advice,  to  avoid  his  home,  because  he  would 
be  the  murderer  of  his  father  and  the  mate  of 
his  mother.     On  the  way  from  his  supposed 


180     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

home  he  fell  in  with  King  Laius  and  slew  him 
in  a  quickly  stirred  dispute.  Then  he  arrived 
before  Thebes,  where  he  solved  the  riddle  of  the 
sphinx  that  blocked  the  way,  and  as  reward  was 
chosen  king  by  the  Thebans  and  given  Jocasta's 
hand  in  marriage.  He  reigned  a  long  time  in 
peace  and  honor  and  begot,  with  his  unknown 
mother,  two  sons  and  two  daughters,  until  a 
pestilence  broke  out,  which  caused  the  Thebans 
again  to  consult  the  oracle.  Here  is  the  ma- 
terial of  the  tragedy  of  Sophocles.  The  mes- 
sengers brought  the  answer  that  the  plague 
would  cease  when  the  murderer  of  Laius  was 
driven  from  the  land.  The  action  of  the  story 
now  consists  only  in  the  step-by-step,  gradual 
and  skillfully  delayed  unfolding — like  the 
work  of  a  psycho-analysis — of  the  fact  that 
(Edipus  himself  was  the  murderer  of  Laius 
and  also  the  son  of  the  murdered  King  and 
Jocasta.' 

"  The  (Edipus  tragedy  can  affect  us  to-day 
as  deeply  as  at  the  time  of  Sophocles,  although 
we  do  not  share  the  views  of  gods  and  fate,  and 
the  belief  in  sayings  of  the  oracle.  Freud  con- 
cludes from  this  correctly  that  the  fable  must 
contain  something  that  calls  out  in  us  all 
related  feelings.  For  us  all,  perhaps,  was  it 
decreed  to  direct  the  first  sexual  feeling  to 
the   mother,    the   first   hate   and   violent   wish 


FREUD'S  THEORY  OF  DREAMS     181 

against  the  father;  our  dreams  convict  us 
of  that.  In  the  CEdipus  tragedy  we  see 
our  childhood  wish  fulfilled,  while  we  ourselves 
have  recovered  from  the  sexual  attraction  of 
the  mother  and  the  aversion  against  the  father 
in  the  course  of  our  development  through  feel- 
ings of  love  and  piety."        ,  r  .      .1 

Thus  because  of  its  relation  to  the  CEdipus 
myth,  these  types  of  dreams  are  termed  the 
CEdipus-complex  dreams.    In  a  psycho-analytic 
investigation  of  the  subject  I  made  the  following  ''fl%^(.r> 
statement  concerning  these  dreams:^  *'  The  com-   J3^  iyK  <^<- 
plex  develops  only  in  those  children  who  have    -v  HF 
been  exposed  to  an  over-exuberant  love  from    TouloV 
the  parents  or  who  themselves  have  shown  a     S-f^>g: 
parental   affection   of  abnormal  intensity.     In        H^w^ 
these  cases  the  later  development  of  the  psycho-  ><^jirj\ -J] 
neurosis  may  be  interpreted  as  the  successful     .   .,\r    3 
revenge    of    the    nervous    system    upon    this 
CEdipus-complex."     I  have  been  able  to  study 
a  number  of  cases  containing  this  complex  and 
from  one  of  these  the  following  dream  analysis 
may   be   quoted   as    sufficiently   indicating   the 
type  of  material.  Or    ^  H? 

Dream — He  seemed  to  be  carrying  the  dead     Ot     C 
body  of  his  father  and  placing  it  on  a  shelf.    '  J   •^  ' 
His  sorrow  did  not  appear  to  be  very  deep,       -      "^' 

*  Isador    H.    Coriat:    "Tlie    (Edipus-Complex    in    the    Psycho- 
neurose*."— Jouma/  of  Abnormal  Psychology ,  VoL  VII,  No.  S. 


182    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

although  his  mother,  who  was  present,  seemed 
greatly  grieved.  He  attempted  to  pronounce 
the  burial  service  over  his  father's  body,  but 
could  not  seem  to  remember  it  and  later,  when 
he  attempted  to  extemporize  such  a  service,  he 
likewise  failed. 

Analysis — The  dreamer  was  an  only  child. 
Early  in  childhood,  because  his  father  once  re- 
turned home  intoxicated  so  great  was  the  emo- 
tional shock  that  there  had  developed  a  grad- 
ually increasing  hatred  of  his  father  and,  as  a 
result,  he  attempted  to  avoid  him  and  blot  him 
out  of  his  life.  In  consequence  the  love  for 
his  mother  grew  greater  and  greater.  He  never 
wished  for  a  brother  or  a  sister,  because,  after 
the  above  mentioned  episode  with  his  father,  he 
became  very  jealous  and  afraid  that  the  appear- 
ance of  another  child  in  the  family  might  de- 
prive him  completely  of  his  mother's  affection. 
(Children  often  make  a  threat  of  "killing"  a 
new  brother  or  sister.)  For  years  during  his 
childhood,  he  secretly  wished  for  his  father's 
death. ^  Although  he  strongly  repressed  this 
wish,  yet  whenever  his  father  became  ill,  there 
arose  a  secret  joy  in  the  thought  that  perhaps 
he  might  not  recover  from  his  illness.    The  fact 

*  It  is  interesting  to  note,  tiiat  in  one  patient,  a  psycho-analysis 
showed  that  his  idea  of  death  in  early  diildhood  meant  "merely 
an  absence  after  a  f uneraL" 


FREUD'S  THEORY  OF  DREAMS     183 

that  he  could  not  remember  a  word  of  the  burial 
service  in  the  dream  whereas  he  could  partially 
repeat  it  when  awake,  is  an  interesting  example 
of  censorship,  namely,  he  could  not  remember 
it  because  he  did  not  wish  to  remember  it. 
Even  before  the  mentioned  episode,  he  never 
was  over  affectionate  towards  his  father,  al- 
though he  never  had  a  feeling  of  hostility. 
This  he  explained  as  arising  from  the  fact  that 
his  father  paid  but  little  attention  to  him  and 
never  fondled  or  played  with  him  when  he  was 
a  child.  There  were  times  when  his  mother's 
attention  to  his  father  made  him  intensely 
jealous,  and  therefore,  in  his  childish  manner, 
he  often  thought  that  if  his  father  were  dead 
(the  term  death  really  meant  to  him  that  his 
father  be  removed,  no  longer  in  the  family), 
the  source  of  jealousy  would  be  removed.  Thus 
we  see,  in  this  dream,  how  a  childish  egotism 
and  selfishness  culminated  in  a  childish  wish. 
The  wish,  however,  persisted  in  consciousness 
only  during  the  earliest  years  of  childhood  and 
Jater,  because  it  was  incompatible  with  his  con- 
scious thoughts,  it  became  repressed  in  the  un- 
conscious. However,  the  wish  was  never  com- 
pletely blotted  out,  for  in  sleep,  the  unconscious, 
yet  at  the  same  time  active  wish  was  sent  into 
the  consciousness  of  the  sleeper  in  a  disguised 
form  and  appeared  fulfilled  in  a  dream.     Of 


184    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

course  consciously,  the  subject  would  emphatic- 
ally deny  that  in  adult  life  he  even  entertained 
such  a  wish,  in  fact,  he  would  not  admit  it,  but  a 
psycho-analysis  of  the  dream  proved  that  the 
wish  at  one  time  existed  in  childhood  and  was 
suppressed  in  the  unconscious.  Since  his  father 
was  aHve  at  the  time  of  the  dream,  the  fulfill- 
ment was  merely  a  fulfillment  of  his  childish 
fantasies. 

Sometimes,  too,  a  childish  reminiscence  or 
wish,  if  the  censor  allow  it  to  pass  into  con- 
sciousness without  distortion,  becomes  star- 
tlingly  literal  and  civil,  the  dream  then  becomes 
hypermnesic  and  portrays  in  its  naked  truth 
the  happenings  of  childhood.  These  hyper- 
mnesic dreams  are  free  from  any  symbolism  or 
distortion,  in  fact  they  are  mere  fragmentary 
^  memories  of  early  childhood  life  produced  in 
a  most  literal  manner,  resembling  in  vividness 
and  fragmentary  character  my  results  on  the 
experimental  synthesis  of  lost  memories  in  the 
functional  amnesias.  In  both  the  dream  and 
the  experiment,  the  revived  memories  are  recog- 
nized as  portions  of  a  personal  experience,  and 
in  fact  under  these  conditions,  the  memories  are 
more  vivid  than  can  be  voluntarily  recalled  or 
visualized   under  normal   conditions.^     This   is 

'  See  particularly  my  paper,  "  A  Contribution  to  the  Psycho- 
pathology  of  Hysteria," — Jovrnal  Abnormal  Pnychology,  Vol.  VI, 
No.  1,  1911,  for  examples  of  this  type  of  dreams. 


FREUD'S  THEORY  OF  DREAMS     185 

uncommon,  however,  because  the  dream  usually 
makes  use  of  symbolisms  to  express  its  varied 
wishes. 

The  dream  of  nakedness  too  or  of  being  in- 
sufficiently clothed  in  the  presence  of  others,  a 
type  of  dream  which  is  so  frequently  experi- 
enced by  normal  adults,  free  from  nervous 
disease,  is  also  a  childhood  reminiscence  dream 
dating  from  a  period  when  the  sense  of  shame 
was  lacking.  Freud  states  as  follows  concerning- 
this  type  of  dream — "  This  age  of  childhood  in 
which  the  sense  of  shame  is  lacking  seems  to  our 
later  recollections  a  Paradise,  and  Paradise  itself 
is  nothing  but  a  composite  fantasy  from  the 
childhood  of  the  individual.  Into  this  Paradise 
the  dream  can  take  us  back  every  night ;  we  have 
already  ventured  the  conjecture  that  the  im- 
pressions from  earliest  childhood  in  themselves, 
and  independently  of  everything  else,  crave  re- 
production, perhaps  without  further  reference 
to  their  content,  and  that  the  repetition  of 
them  is  the  fulfillment  of  the  wish/' 

Such  data  and  investigations  as  these  nat- 
urally bring  us  face  to  face  with  Freud's  unique 
conceptions  of  the  mental  life  of  the  child,  par- 
ticularly its  psycho-sexual  manifestations  and 
the  relation  of  these  manifestations  to  the 
neuroses.  Without  going  into  details,  as  these 
must  be  sought  for  in  special  treatises,  it  suf- 


>•' 


186    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

fices  to  state  that  through  the  data  secured  by 
psycho-analysis  it  can  be  sho^Ti  that  the  sexual 
instinct  long  antedates  puberty,  and  in  fact 
may  make  its  appearance  in  the  earliest  years 
of  childhood.  The  child  is  not  sexually  neutral. 
As  Freud  so  clearly  expresses  it — "  It  is  not  at 
all  true  that  the  sexual  impulse  enters  into 
the  child  at  puberty  as  the  devils  in  the  Gos- 
pel entered  into  the  swine.  The  child  has  his 
sexual  impulses  and  activities  from  the  begin- 
ning, he  brings  them  with  him  into  the  world, 
and  from  these  the  normal  so-called  sexuality 
of  adults  emerges  by  a  significant  development 
through  manifold  stages.  It  is  not  very  diffi- 
cult to  observe  the  expressions  of  this  childish 
sexual  activity,  it  needs  rather  a  certain  art 
to  overlook  them  or  fail  to  interpret  them." 
However,  without  entering  into  details,  it  may 
be  stated  that  "  sexual "  in  the  Freudian  sense, 
has  a  different  connotation  from  the  function 
of  reproduction  and  is  given  merely  to  the 
different  kinds  of  pleasure — sensations  of  the 
child  which  by  imperceptible  gradations  pass 
into  the  sexuality  of  puberty  and  adult  life. 

In  very  young  children,  the  sexual  instinct  is 
not,  as  in  adults,  directed  towards  other  persons, 
but  to  the  child's  own  body.  This  condition 
is  called  "  auto-erotism "  by  Havelock  Ellis. 
The  remains  of  this  auto-erotism  may  often  be 


FREUD'S  THEORY  OF  DREAMS     187 

found  in  the  psycho-neuroses  of  adults.  In  the 
unconscious  mental  life  of  all  neurotics  there 
may  often  be  found,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
perversions  of  the  sexual  instinct  brought  over 
from  childhood,  and  neurotics  often  maintain 
their  infantile  or  childhood  attitude  towards  sex- 
uality. In  early  childhood  too,  the  sexual  im- 
pulse may  become  accidentally  side-tracked  and 
attach  itself  to  objects  or  actions,  thus  giving  rise 
to  the  various  sexual  perversions,  fetichism  and 
symbolism.  The  emotion  of  love  may  be  experi- 
enced long  before  puberty,  although  at  a  very 
early  age  the  child  is  primarily  auto-erotic  and 
incapable  of  sexual  choice.  In  cases  published 
by  Freud  and  Jung  and  also  in  some  personal 
psycho-analytic  investigations,  it  has  been  pos- 
sible to  trace  the  sexual  emotions  to  the  very 
earliest  period  of  childhood.  Unsuccessful 
struggle  with  the  childhood  sexual  complexes, 
often  leads  to  a  neurosis  in  the  adult.  The 
theme  of  sexuality  in  dreams  is  often  expressed 
in  a  symbolic  manner,  because  the  sexual  in- 
stinct is  so  powerfully  repressed.  In  fact, 
whole  lists  of  phallic  symbols  have  been  worked 
out  through  psycho-analysis. 

To  summarize  briefly,  a  dream  is  the  fulfill- 
ment of  unconscious  repressed  wishes  and  uses 
as  material,  either  childhood  episodes,  adult 
happenings,   various   physical  stimuli,  or  pre- 


188    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

sleeping  thoughts,  all  of  which  are  woven  into 
the  complex  phantasmagoria  of  the  dream. 
The  latent  thoughts  alone  explain  the  dream 
and  this  explanation  can  only  be  investigated 
through  the  special  technique  of  psycho-analysis^. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


HYPNOSIS 


We  will  now  take  up  the  discussion  of  per- 
haps the  most  important  artificially  induced 
mental  condition,  namely,  hypnosis.  As  a  com- 
plete understanding  of  the  subject  can  only 
be  obtained  by  an  insight  into  other  related 
conditions  we  will  turn  very  briefly  to  certain 
closely  allied  states,  such  as  normal  absent- 
mindedness,  conditions  of  experimental  distrac- 
tion, and  the  hypnagogic  state. 

Hypnotism  was  made  use  of  by  the  Egyptian 
priests,  in  the  Middle  Ages  it  became  bound  up 
by  certain  occult  doctrines,  and  even  to-day  in 
India  the  mystic  fakirs  openly  exhibit  hypnotic 
phenomena  in  public.  But  it  was  only  toward 
the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  that  the  scien- 
tific world  began  to  take  hypnotism  seriously. 
Finally  through  the  work  of  a  group  of  French 
investigators  the  phenomena  of  hypnosis  were 
stripped  of  occultism  and  mysticism  and  be- 
came a  well-recognized  scientific  procedure. 

The  theories  of  hypnosis  have  been  many,  and 
like  sleep  it  has  had  its  biological,  physiological, 

189 


190    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

and  psychological  interpretations.  Even  to- 
day, in  spite  of  the  immense  amount  of  work 
which  has  been  done  on  the  subject,  there  is  no 
agreement  as  to  its  exact  nature,  although  all 
agree  as  to  its  multiform  manifestations.  It 
is  not  our  purpose  to  go  into  the  history  of 
hypnosis,  but  rather  to  discuss  the  nature  of  the 
brain  state  involved  in  the  phenomenon.  We 
will  take  up  very  briefly  the  most  prominent 
theories  which  have  been  propounded  to  explain 
the  condition,  and  finally  discuss  some  of  the 
very  recent  investigations.  Before  we  examine 
hypnosis  in  man  it  will  be  best  to  show  how  cer- 
tain allied  conditions  may  be  found  in  animals 
and  trace  their  evolution  upwards  in  the  same 
manner  in  which  we  traced  the  evolution  of 
sleep. 

The  physiologist  Max  Verworn  has  given  us 
very  interesting  descriptions  of  hypnosis  in 
animals  and  has  illustrated  it  by  some  rather 
striking  photographs.  He  says,  "  It  may  suffice 
to  recall  a  few  well-known  phenomena.  The 
ancient  experiments  of  the  Egyptian  snake 
charmers,  which  Moses  and  Aaron  performed 
before  the  Egyptian  Pharaoh  more  than  three 
thousand  years  ago,  belong  to  this  category 
[i.e„  hypnosis  in  animals].  By  slight  pressure 
in  the  neck  region,  it  is  possible  to  make  a 
wildly  excited,  hissing,  erect  asp  [hooded  snake] 


HYPNOSIS  191 

suddenly  motionless,  so  that  the  dangerous 
creature  can  be  put  into  any  desired  position 
without  fear  of  its  fatal  bite.  The  well-known 
experiment  of  Father  Kircher  depends  upon 
same  causes.  If  an  excited  fowl  be  seized  sud- 
denly with  a  firm  grip  and  laid  carefully  upon 
its  back,  after  a  few  brief  attempts  to  escape 
it  lies  motionless.  Guinea  pigs,  rabbits,  frogs, 
lizards,  crabs,  and  numerous  other  animals  be- 
have similarly."  According  to  Verworn,  the 
hypnosis  of  human  beings  depends  upon  the 
same  physiological  mechanism,  that  is,  an  inhibi- 
tion of  the  will.^ 

Forel,  as  the  result  of  his  extensive  investiga- 
tions in  comparative  psychology,  particularly  on 
the  nervous  reactions  of  ants,  concludes  that  a 
number  of  symptoms  of  human  hypnosis  may 
occur  in  animals,  not  only  muscular  rigidity 
but  also  extreme  anaesthesia.  He  describes  the 
hypnosis  of  animals  as  due  not  to  fear  nor  to  the 
abnormal  position  in  which  one  places  the  ani- 
mal, but  to  a  simplified,  more  automatic  sug- 
gestion mechanism,  which  mechanism  can  be 
induced  at  times  by  fixation  of  the  look  or  of  the 
body.  He  claims  that  the  lethargic  sleeping 
condition  of  the  dormouse  and  some  other  ani- 
mals is  due  to  a  simple  physiological  cataleptic 

*Max  Verworn:  "General  Physiology,  An  Outline  of  tbe 
Science  of  Life." 


192    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

state,  which  is  induced  by  the  action  of  sug- 
gestion, adapted  to  a  definite  purpose  and  in- 
serted in  the  linkings  of  instinct.^  Whether 
these  experiments  in  animals  are  genuine  hyp- 
nosis or  mere  muscular  rigidity,  is  difficult  to 
determine.  Suggestibility  increased  over  the 
normal  is  the  most  prominent  manifestation  of 
the  hypnotic  state,  but  whether  this  increased 
suggestibility  occurs  in  animals,  it  is  impossible 
to  tell.  Recently  Claparede  has  been  able  to 
induce  hypnosis  with  catalepsy  in  a  monkey. 

My  personal  experiments  in  the  induction  of 
hypnotic  states  in  animals  (crayfish,  frogs,  and 
guinea  pigs)  have  already  been  given  in  the 
chapter  on  sleep.  The  condition  was  there  inter- 
preted as  due  to  a  cerebral  inhibition,  an  hy- 
pothesis has  also  been  put  forth  to  explain  hyp- 
notic states  in  man. 

The  evolution  of  hypnosis  offers  a  fascinating 
field  for  speculation  and  many  of  the  same  evo- 
lutionary principles  can  be  apphed  to  hypnosis 
as  to  sleep.  Many  animals  seem  to  furnish  ex- 
amples of  spontaneous  hypnotic  states,  for  in- 
stance the  simulation  of  death,  or  still  better, 
the  fascination  of  birds  by  snakes,  which  seems 
to  be  a  kind  of  hypnosis  with  catalepsy.  Certain 
animals  show  motionless  states  in  reaction  to 

» August  Forel:  "Hypnotism  and  Psychotherapy,"  1907.     (See 
particularly  Chapter  XIV.) 


HYPNOSIS  193 

fear.  While  motionless  states  of  the  nature  of 
genuine  hypnosis  or  cerebral  inhibition  may  be 
artificially  produced  in  certain  animals,  yet 
probably  in  the  evolutionary  scale,  such  states 
were  made  possible  of  artificial  production  be- 
cause spontaneously  the  normal  defence  re- 
actions of  these  animals  showed  similar  phe- 
nomena. If  we  assume  that  these  motionless 
states  arose  in  animals  out  of  stationary  re- 
actions while  waiting  for  their  prey  or  for 
purposes  of  defence,  we  must  also  assume  that 
this  was  an  intelligent  experiment  on  the  part 
of  the  animal.  Thus  hypnosis  had  probably 
a  biological  origin  like  sleep,  but  since  the 
former  was  unnecessary  for  the  preservation  of 
the  species,  it  became  only  incompletely  de- 
veloped spontaneously  and  could  only  be  arti- 
ficially produced.  Even  then  it  did  not  appear 
until  the  animal  began  to  show  intelligent  re- 
actions, a  defence  or  instinctive  reaction  on  one 
hand  and  a  hunger  reaction  on  the  other.  These 
reactions,  however,  while  of  great  value,  did  not 
have  the  biological  importance  of  sleep,  namely, 
a  repair  of  nervous  tissue,  and  therefore  they 
did  not  become,  like  sleep,  automatic  and  spon- 
taneous. 

Like  sleep,  hypnosis  has  had  many  theories 
offered  for  its  explanation.  The  older  ideas  of 
Mesmer  that  the  hypnotic  state  was  due  to  a 


194    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

special  magnetic  fluid,  and  of  Braid  that  it  was 
caused  through  exhaustion  by  over-stimulation 
of  the  special  senses,  particularly  sight,  need 
only  to  be  mentioned  as  matters  of  historical 
interest.  Charcot,  who  brought  his  keen  insight 
to  the  analysis  of  hypnosis  as  well  as  of  hysteria, 
believed  that  the  hypnotic  state  was  nothing 
more  than  an  artificial  or  an  experimental  nerv- 
ous condition;  a  neurosis  brought  on  by  some 
technical  device  and  closely  allied  to  hysteria. 
This  view,  that  hypnosis  is  nothing  but  artificial 
hysteria,  has  been  insisted  upon  by  other  mem- 
bers of  the  modern  French  school  and  also  in  a 
modified  form  by  Freud.  According  to  this 
school  hypnosis  can  be  sharply  divided  into 
three  distinct  states:  namely,  the  lethargic,  the 
cataleptic,  and  the  somnambulistic.  That  this 
division  is  a  purely  artificial  one,  and  that  sub- 
jects of  hypnosis  may  or  may  not  show  any 
of  the  phenomena  included  in  these  states,  we 
hope  to  demonstrate  later. 

According  to  Bernheim  and  the  Nancy  school 
hypnosis  is  nothing  but  a  special  form  of  sleep 
induced  by  suggestion.  There  is  no  relation 
between  hysteria  and  hypnosis.  There  are  dif- 
ferent depths  of  hypnosis  in  the  same  manner 
that  there  are  different  depths  of  sleep,  a  view 
which  is  also  held  by  Forel.  Bechterew  also 
claims  that  hypnosis  is  a  special  modification 


HYPNOSIS  195 

of  normal  sleep,  but  his  theory  differs  from  that 
of  Bernheim  in  claiming  that  the  hypnotic  state 
can  be  induced  by  physical  as  well  as  by  psychi- 
cal means,  without  any  element  of  suggestion. 

The  histological  theories  have  been  applied  in 
the  attempts  to  explain  hypnosis  in  the  same 
manner  in  which  they  have  been  applied  to 
natural  sleep.  This  theory  states  that  hypnosis 
is  due  to  the  amoeboid  motions  which  are  sup- 
posed, without  any  adequate  basis,  to  be  pos- 
sessed by  the  nerve  cells,  at  least  by  the  nerve 
cells  of  the  vertebrates,  since  it  seems  that  in 
them  alone  hypnosis  can  be  induced  by  various 
means.  According  to  this  theory,  any  obstruc- 
tion, or  interruption  of  the  nerve  current,  due 
to  a  shrinking  of  the  protoplasmic  processes 
of  the  nerve  cells,  causes  certain  disturbances  of 
consciousness,  such  as  drowsiness,  natural  sleep, 
or  hypnosis.  The  weak  point  in  this  rather 
fanciful  theory  has  been  the  inability  to  demon- 
strate any  such  shrinking  of  the  nerve  processes 
or  at  least  it  has  been  demonstrated  only  in  some 
of  the  very  lowest  organisms,  in  which  it  has 
not  been  possible  to  experimentally  produce 
hypnotic  phenomena  and  in  which  natural  sleep 
seems  likewise  absent. 

Disturbances  of  circulation  have  also  been 
utilized  to  explain  hypnosis,  in  the  same  manner 
as  it  was  attempted  to  explain  sleep.     Since  it 


196    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

is  well  known  that  anaemia  or  a  lack  of  blood 
in  the  brain  may  cause  a  state  of  drowsiness, 
this  anaemia  of  the  brain  has  also  been  utilized 
to  explain  the  hypnotic  state.  The  weak  point 
in  all  these  theories,  it  appears,  is  the  a  priori 
assumption  that  hypnosis  is  either  sleep  or  a 
special  modification  of  sleep.  We  shall  later 
attempt  to  show  that  hypnosis  can  only  be  ade- 
quately explained  when  we  demonstrate  analo- 
gous phenomena  in  a  non-hypnotic  state,  and 
that  these  phenomena  are  not  found  in  normal 
sleep  or  at  least  to^  a  less  extent  than  they  are 
found  in  some  phases  of  sleep  or  in  normal 
absent-mindedness.  Investigation  of  the  blood 
vessels  of  the  retina  has  shown  no  diminution  in 
the  size  of  the  vessels  during  hypnosis.  Besides, 
hypnosis  can  be  induced  after  the  inhalation 
of  nitrite  of  amyl,  a  drug  which  causes  dilata- 
tion of  the  blood  vessels  and,  therefore,  hy- 
persemia  and  not  anaemia  of  the  brain.  Preyer 
postulates  a  chemical  theory  for  hypnosis,  claim- 
ing that  the  fixed  attention  which  seems  to  be 
necessary  for  the  inducing  of  the  hypnotic  state 
causes  a  rapid  accumulation  of  waste  products 
in  the  brain  and  this  accumulation  brings  about 
a  partial  loss  of  activity  of  the  cerebral 
cortex. 

A  satisfactory  theory  of  hypnosis,  then,  must 
furnish  an  answer  to  several  questions,  viz. : — 


HYPNOSIS  197 

1.  What  is  the  condition  of  the  nervous  sys- 
tem during  hypnosis? 

2.  What  is  the  relation  between  this  condi- 
tion and  the  various  symptoms  of  hypnosis? 

3.  Is  there  any  relation  between  the  nervous 
system  in  hypnosis  and  the  means  used  to  induce 
hypnosis? 

According  to  Claparede,^  who  has  attempted 
to  answer  these  questions  on  the  basis  of  an 
extensive  investigation,  hypnosis  is  a  selective 
form  of  inhibition,  limited  to  one  function, 
that  of  the  initiative.  By  the  suspension  of 
this  latter  function,  can  be  explained  the  in- 
creased suggestibility  of  the  hypnotic  state. 

Thus  the  four  most  important  symptoms  of 
hypnosis  are,  loss  of  initiative,  loss  of  memory, 
increased  suggestibility,  and  the  rapport,  or  state 
of  dependence  between  subject  and  operator. 
The  brain  state  which  produces  this  condition 
has  been  the  subject  of  much  speculation,  into 
the  details  of  which  we  cannot  enter  here.  The 
most  prominent  phenomenon  of  rapport  on 
which  all  hypnosibility  seems  to  depend  has  been 
explained  by  recent  psycho-analytic  investiga- 
tions (Ferenczi)  as  due  to  the  persistence  of 
certain  childhood  complexes  in  the  relation  of 
the  child  to  its  parents.  Thus  according  to  the 
psycho-analytic  theory  suggestion  in  hypnosis 

*  E.  Clapartde— "  Archives  de  Psychologic,"  July,  1909. 


198    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

depends  upon  the  transference  of  certain  un- 
conscious emotional  processes  in  the  subject's 
mind,  usually  of  a  psycho-sexual  nature. 

It  seems  to  us  that  the  crux  of  the  whole 
question  is  the  attempt  to  identify  hypnosis 
either  with  sleep  or  as  a  special  modification  of 
sleep.  It  is  true  that  to  a  limited  extent  hyp- 
nosis outwardly  resembles  normal  sleep.  The 
hypnotic  state  can  be  brought  about  by  the 
same  influence  and  conditions  as  produce  sleep, 
such  as  withdrawal  of  all  strong  stimuli,  restful 
position,  monotonous  gentle  stimulation  of  one 
or  more  of  the  special  sense  organs,  expecta- 
tion, habit,  banishment  of  certain  thoughts,  and 
the  concentrating  of  attention  on  some  unexcit- 
ing object  or  sense  impression.  In  hypnosis 
and  likewise  in  sleep  the  subject  is  inert  and 
passive.  Catalepsy  may  occur  in  normal  sleep 
as  well  as  in  the  hypnotic  state;  in  both  these 
states  the  subject  frequently  desires  to  move 
his  limbs,  but  is  incapable  of  doing  so.  As  was 
previously  pointed  out,  however,  this  inability 
to  move  the  limbs  occurs  only  in  the  semi- 
drowsy  hypnagogic  state,  and  never  in  deep 
sleep,  for  in  the  latter  condition  there  is  com- 
plete relaxation  of  all  muscles.  This  peculiar 
condition,  which  I  called  nocturnal  paralysis, 
sometimes  occurs  also  as  a  temporary  phenom- 
enon,  when   a   subject  is   suddenly   awakened 


HYPNOSIS  199 

from  deep  hypnosis.  Suggestibility,  however, 
and  the  presence  of  reactions  to  suggestion  is 
absent  in  deep  sleep  but  is  present  even  in  the 
deepest  hypnosis.  Unconscious  reflexes  without 
mental  action,  such  as  the  withdrawal  of  a  limb 
when  it  is  tickled  or  pinched,  occur  in  sleep,  but 
never  in  hypnosis.  Suggestions  given  in  sleep 
are  never  carried  out  when  the  subject  is 
awakened.  The  motor  disturbances  of  certain 
organic  nervous  diseases,  such  as  the  twitching 
of  chorea,  or  the  tremor  of  paralysis  agitans, 
tend  to  cease  in  sleep  but  not  in  the  deepest 
hypnosis.  Furthermore,  the  light  hypnotic  states 
even  outwardly  do  not  resemble  sleep;  it  is 
only  in  deep  hypnosis  that  there  is  any  such 
outward  resemblance.  In  hypnosis  the  subject 
is  in  touch  or  in  rapport  with  the  operator,  and 
consequently  there  results  an  automatic  obedi- 
ence or  the  carrying  out  of  post-hypnotic  sug- 
gestions, a  thing  which  is  impossible  in  sleep. 
Hypnosis  is  a  mental  state  brought  on  through 
suggestion;  sleep  is  a  habit,  a  reaction  of  de- 
fence on  the  part  of  the  organism  against 
fatigue.  The  simple  command  of  "  wake  "  will 
bring  a  subject  out  of  the  deepest  hypnosis,  be- 
cause this  command  acts  as  a  negative  sugges- 
tion. Ordinary  noise  will  not  awaken  a  deeply 
hypnotized  subject.  In  sleep,  however,  any  in- 
different command  or  noise,  if  made  sufficiently 


200    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

loud,  will  awaken  the  subject.  The  result  bears 
no  relation  to  the  type  of  command,  but  must 
be  a  stimulus  sufficiently  intense  to  disturb  the 
course  of  sleep,  and  is  regulated  only  by  the 
depth  of  the  condition.  All  intercourse  with 
the  outside  world  is  cut  off  during  sleep  with 
the  exception  that  dreams,  even  of  a  very  com- 
plex nature,  may  arise  from  peripheral  stimuli. 
But  even  in  the  deepest  hypnosis  the  subject 
maintains  his  relations  to  the  world  about  him; 
the  subject  can  be  made  to  walk,  talk,  or  go 
through  all  sorts  of  complex  acts;  suggestions 
may  be  given  which  will  act  automatically  even 
after  the  hypnotic  state  has  been  terminated. 
The  loss  of  voluntary  movement  in  normal  sleep 
is  not  subject  to  the  will  or  suggestions  of  an 
outside  experimenter.  In  deep  sleep  it  is  a 
question  how  much  consciousness  is  active,  for, 
as  we  have  previously  pointed  out,  it  seems  very 
likely  that  dreams  are  absent  in  deep  sleep  and 
take  place  only  as  the  subject  is  on  the  road  to 
awakening.  In  hypnosis,  however,  conscious- 
ness is  exceedingly  active,  intelligent  conversa- 
tion may  be  carried  on,  and  even  hallucinations 
or  illusions  of  the  special  senses  may  be  brought 
about  through  suggestion.  On  termination  of 
the  hypnotic  state  known  as  awakening  (a 
term  probably  derived  from  the  fancied  resem- 
blance of  hypnosis  to  sleep)  there  may  be  no 


HYPNOSIS  201 

memory  for  this  particular  localized  period  of 
active  consciousness.  That  the  memories  are 
conserved,  however,  but  merely  dissociated,  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  they  may  be  reproduced 
or  restored  by  other  special  devices,  such  as  ex- 
perimental distraction,  crystal  gazing,  automatic 
writing,  or  in  a  subsequent  state  of  hypnosis. 

Experiences  related  in  hypnosis  for  which  the 
subject  has  no  memory  on  awakening,  may  also 
cause  certain  physiological  and  psycho-physical 
reactions,  such  as  changes  in  the  pulse  rate  or  in 
the  electrical  resistance  of  the  body.  Changes 
in  the  personality,  temporary  at  least,  have  been 
found  to  take  place  in  hypnosis,  either  spon- 
taneously or  through  suggestion.  It  is  true  that 
some  complex  dreams  of  sleep  may  also  involve 
transitory  changes  in  the  personality  of  the 
dreamer,  but  here  the  assumed  personality  is 
extremely  vague,  and  it  is  very  unlikely  that 
the  same  change  will  occur  in  a  subsequent 
dream,  whereas  the  hypnotic  personality  tends 
to  reproduce  itself  spontaneously  in  all  later 
hypnotic  states. 

We  see,  therefore,  that  there  is  very  little  if 
any  resemblance  between  normal  sleep,  or  at 
least  between  the  deeper  grades  of  sleep,  and 
hypnosis.  There  is,  however,  a  portion  of  sleep 
which  in  many  ways  bears  a  striking  resem- 
blance to  the  artificial  hypnotic  states.    As  we 


202    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

fall  asleep  there  is  always  an  intermediate  state 
which  hovers  between  sleep  and  awakening.  It 
is  called  the  hypnagogic  state.  This  hypnagogic 
state  occurs  as  a  transitory  phenomenon  in  all 
individuals,  but  it  becomes  markedly  protracted 
in  those  subjects  of  insomnia  who  complain  of 
an  absolute  loss  of  sleep.  This  hypnagogic  state 
takes  place  at  both  ends  of  sleep,  when  the  sub- 
ject is  falling  asleep  and  when  sleep  has  been 
either  artificially  or  spontaneously  terminated. 
Consciousness  in  this  state  is  either  a  little  hazy 
or  is  completely  retained.  For  instance,  one  of 
my  subjects  who  was  afflicted  with  nocturnal 
paralysis,  was  able  to  judge  the  length  of  time 
in  which  she  was  unable  to  move  by  gazing  at 
a  watch  which  hung  over  the  foot  of  the  bed. 
We  have  already  pointed  out  how  this  condition 
of  nocturnal  paralysis  may  be  observed  in  sub- 
jects who  are  gradually  or  suddenly  awakened 
from  a  deep  hypnosis  as  well  as  from  natural 
sleep.  Now  the  transition  from  waking  to 
sleep  or  from  sleep  to  waking  is  never  sudden, 
but  may  be  of  varying  duration,  from  a  few 
seconds  up  to  fifteen  minutes.  In  both  the 
spontaneous  hypnagogic  state  and  in  artificial 
hypnosis  there  is  increased  suggestibility,  a 
tendency  to  transitory  paralysis,  catalepsy  of 
the  limbs  may  appear,  and  even  hallucinations 
may   arise.     In   fact   the  post-hypnotic   palsy 


HYPNOSIS  SOS 

which  is  sometimes  observed  is  in  every  way 
identical  with  these  conditions  of  transitory  noc- 
turnal paralysis.  The  phenomena  in  both  cases 
appear  after  the  hypnosis  has  been  terminated 
by  suggestion  or  after  the  subject  awakens  from 
sleep  and  is  in  a  semi-drowsy  hypnagogic 
state. 

But  the  most  striking  presence  of  phenomena 
analogous  to  hypnosis  is  found  in  normal  absent- 
mindedness.  Now  these  absent-minded  states 
have  awakened  a  great  deal  of  interest  because 
they  occur  in  everyday  Ufe  and,  therefore,  can 
be  easily  studied,  and  because  they  seem  to  be 
the  normal  analogues  to  many  pathological  proc- 
esses. But  whether  these  absent-minded  acts 
are  mere  accidental  chance  dissociations,  or 
whether  they  are  due  to  unconscious  memories 
or  the  transformation  of  dormant  complexes 
into  co-conscious  activity,  or  dormant  physio- 
logical experiences  which  have  become  disso- 
ciated, is  still  a  much  discussed  question.  For 
each  theory  a  certain  amount  of  experimental 
evidence  can  be  urged  in  support.  Indeed, 
Freud  claims  that  no  absent-minded  acts  are 
due  to  chance  or  accident,  but  are  directed  by 
the  automatic  influence  of  unconscious  or  sub- 
conscious memories,  usually  of  a  painful  char- 
acter and  which  may  be  revealed  by  some  form 
of  psycho-analytic  technic. 


204    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

We  saw  in  the  first  chapter  how  absent- 
mindedness  is  a  state  of  increased  suggestibility ; 
in  fact  during  this  state  absurd  suggestions  will 
be  accepted  by  the  subject,  an  acceptance  from 
which  the  subject  would  revolt  under  normal 
conditions.  In  absent-mindedness  there  may  be 
a  decrease  of  motor  control,  the  subject  may 
stand  still  as  if  suddenly  petrified,  the  same  as 
in  the  ecstasy  of  hypnosis.  Temporary  losses 
of  sensation  may  take  place  in  the  absent- 
mindedness  so  that  a  person  may  be  pricked 
or  pinched  without  apparently  any  sense  of 
pain.  The  subject  may  be  oblivious  to  his  sur- 
roundings ;  a  thoughtless  "  don't  know "  or 
"  yes  "  or  "  no  "  may  take  place  in  reaction  to 
questions,  the  meaning  of  which  is  not  fully  ap- 
preciated. In  the  large  majority  of  cases  there 
is  a  loss  of  memory  for  absent-minded  acts.  The 
absent-minded  acts  in  these  cases  remain  not 
only  dormant  but  likewise  dissociated.  That 
they  are  conserved  in  the  unconscious  or  sub- 
conscious is  shown  by  the  fact  that  a  later 
reproduction  of  the  act  is  possible  through  cer- 
tain technical  methods.  This  was  well  shown  in 
a  certain  personal  experience  of  the  writer.  One 
day  I  had  occasion  to  refer  to  some  notes  which 
I  had  made  in  the  course  of  preparation  for  a 
certain    technical    paper.      Prolonged    search 


HYPNOSIS  «0« 

failed  to  discover  these  notes,  although  I  dis- 
tinctly remembered  having  made  them  on  a  par- 
ticular kind  of  blue  paper.  It  then  occurred  to 
me  that  perhaps  it  would  be  interesting  by 
means  of  crystal  gazing  to  see  if  I  could  recover 
any  trace  of  the  lost  notes.  The  result  was 
peculiarly  interesting  and  successful.  I  dis- 
tinctly saw  myself  in  the  crystal,  sitting  at  my 
desk,  and  caught  myself  in  the  act  of  tearing 
up  these  particular  notes  in  connection  with 
some  other  data  which  I  had  finished  using,  and 
throwing  the  torn  pieces  into  the  waste-paper 
basket.  A  search  in  the  basket  discovered  the 
lost  and  torn  notes,  which  I  was  able  to  piece 
together.  Now  the  tearing  of  these  notes  was 
evidently  an  absent-minded  act;  and  yet  an  act 
which  was  preserved  in  the  unconscious  and 
later  fully  reproduced  through  the  technical 
device  of  crystal  gazing. 

In  absent-mindedness,  as  well  as  in  hypnosis, 
negative  hallucinations  may  occur,  such  as  in 
the  frequent  experiences  of  certain  persons  who 
cannot  find  objects  which  are  immediately  in 
front  of  their  eyes.  Now  all  absent-minded 
acts  are  temporary;  absent-mindedness  is  a 
special  condition  of  consciousness,  for  we  do 
not  habitually  go  about  in  an  absent-minded 
state.  All  absent-minded  acts  seem  to  be  spon- 
taneously    dissociated     experiences.       This     is 


206    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

shown  by  the  fact  of  increased  suggestibility,  of 
the  possibility  of  the  recovery  of  the  memory  of 
absent-minded  phenomena,  and  of  a  lack  of 
attention  which  the  subject  pays  to  painful 
stimuli.  In  fact  this  disregard  for  pain- 
ful stimuli  is  a  kind  of  a  functional  anaes- 
thesia. 

Dr.  Prince  also  insists  that  absent-mindedness 
is  a  form  of  temporary  dissociation.  "  The 
phenomena  of  absent-mindedness,  or  abstrac- 
tion, a  normal  function,  indicate  both  dissocia- 
tion and  automatism.  It  is  not  difficult  to 
demonstrate  experimentally  that  auditory,  vis- 
ual, tactile,  and  other  images  which  are  not  per- 
ceived by  the  personal  consciousness,  during 
this  state  may  be  perceived  subconsciously. 
Thus  under  proper  precautions  I  place  vari- 
ous objects  where  they  will  be  within  the  periph- 
eral field  of  vision  of  a  suitable  subject,  C.  B. 
Her  attention  is  strongly  attracted  listening 
to  a  discourse.  The  objects  are  not  perceived. 
She  is  now  hypnotized  and  in  hypnosis  de- 
scribed accurately  the  objects,  thus  showing 
that  they  were  seen  subconsciously  and  produc- 
ing subconscious  states.  Dissociation  is  plainly 
a  function  of  the  mind  and  brain." ' 

'Morton  Prince:  "Do  Subconscious  States  Habitually  Exist 
Normally,  or  Are  They  Always  Either  Artificial  or  Abnormal 
Phenomena?" — The  Psychological  Review,  March-May,  1905. 


HYPNOSIS  207 

It  seems,  therefore,  that  although  hypnosis  is 
not  identical  with  sleep,  yet  it  presents  many 
points  of  similarity  to  a  certain  phase  of  sleep, 
namely,  the  hypnagogic  stage.  It  bears  the 
closest  resemblance,  however,  to  absent-minded- 
ness. But  unlike  absent-mindedness  hypnosis  is 
a  special  condition,  in  that  the  former  is  a  spon- 
taneous phenomenon,  while  the  latter  must  be 
artificially  produced  through  suggestion.  Most 
hypnotic  states  are  merely  conditions  of  more 
or  less  intense  abstraction,  in  which  the  subject 
can  either  open  his  eyes  with  ease  or  with  some 
difficulty,  and  in  which  memory  is  clearly  re- 
tained. The  deeper  hypnotic  states,  with  cata- 
lepsy, automatism,  and  amnesia,  usually  occur 
only  in  hysterics  or  in  highly  suggestible  indi- 
viduals. Absent-mindedness  is  a  temporary  dis- 
sociation and  terminates  suddenly  whether  we 
will  or  no,  while  hypnosis  can  be  indefinitely 
protracted  by  the  operator,  until  a  suggestion  is 
given  to  awaken.  Hypnosis,  therefore,  seems 
to  be  a  special  mental  state,  an  artificial  dissocia- 
tion of  consciousness  strongly  resembling,  and 
in  some  cases  absolutely  identical  with,  normal 
absent-mindedness,  but  more  intense  and  pro- 
tracted, induced  by  suggestion  and  readily 
terminated  by  suggestion. 

All  normal  individuals  are  subject  to  tempo- 
rary absent-minded  states.    This  absent-minded 


208     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

state  is  really  a  mental  dissociation  and  in  it 
there  is  a  temporary  increased  suggestibility. 
This  suggestibility  ceases,  however,  as  soon  as 
the  condition  has  terminated.  If  some  device 
could  be  arranged  whereby  this  absent-minded 
state  could  be  produced  at  will  and  terminated 
at  will,  we  would  then  have  an  ideal  soil  on 
which  ideas  planted  through  suggestion  could 
grow.  Fortunately  we  have  such  artificial  de- 
vices in  the  states  of  hypnosis,  and  in  the  condi- 
tions of  experimental  distraction.  In  both  these 
artificial  conditions  the  memory  is  broadened, 
the  mind  is  more  or  less  completely  dissociated, 
and  suggestions  are  uncritically  accepted.  But 
unfortunately  we  cannot  keep  a  subject  in  one 
of  these  artificial  conditions  for  an  indefinite 
length  of  time.  Here  the  most  important  prin- 
ciple of  all  comes  to  our  aid.  Briefly  it  is  this. 
Suggestions  given  to  a  subject  during  either 
of  these  artificial  states  tend  to  remain  in  the 
subconscious,  and  to  act  themselves  out  inde- 
pendently after  the  artificial  state  has  been 
terminated.  It  makes  no  difference  whether  the 
subject  remembers  the  suggestion  or  whether 
he  does  not  remember  it,  the  effect  is  the 
same. 

These  two  artificial  devices  have  a  certain 
range  of  therapeutic  value.  They  can  be  used  to 
correct  or  to  cure  abnormal  sexual  perversions, 


HYPNOSIS  209 

chronic  alcoholism,  obsessions,  recurrent  states 
of  fear,  abnormal  shyness,  and  conditions  of 
abnormal  self-consciousness.  Hysterical  symp- 
toms may  be  made  to  disappear,  fixed  ideas 
which  interfere  with  the  welfare  of  the  physical 
organism  may  be  overcome,  and  experiences 
which  the  subject  cannot  recall  in  his  normal 
condition  may  be  restored.  However,  in  many 
of  these  conditions,  only  certain  symptoms  are 
removed  by  hypnotic  suggestion:  In  the  ulti- 
mate cure  of  the  disorder — that  is,  a  breaking 
down  of  unconscious  emotional  complexes — 
psycho-analysis  must  be  utilized. 

Hypnotic  suggestion  has  secured  some  of  its 
best  results  in  chronic  alcoholism.  Here  the 
negative  suggestion  against  drink,  combined 
with  the  positive  suggestion  of  increased  will 
power  to  resist  the  temptation,  has  often  such 
a  far-reaching  effect  that  it  might  almost  be 
said  to  reconstruct  the  personahty.  Sometimes 
insomnia  may  be  due  to  a  fixed  idea  on  the 
part  of  the  subject  that  he  cannot  sleep.  This 
fixed  idea  may  have  had  its  origin  in  a  sleep- 
less night  in  the  past,  due  to  some  indifferent 
experience.  But  after  this  experience  the  sub- 
ject expects  that  he  will  again  have  a  sleepless 
night,  and  little  by  little  this  fixed  idea  produces 
an  actual  insomnia.  Now  the  obvious  treatment 
of  this  condition  would  be  to  change  this  fixed 


210    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

idea  through  some  form  of  psychotherapy. 
Sleep-producing  drugs  would  be  useless,  as  the 
subject  would  sleep  only  during  the  period  of 
drug  administration. 


CHAPTER  IX 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE   MENTAL  LIFE 

The  exploration  of  the  subconscious  in  ab- 
normal mental  states  has  furnished  data  which 
are  of  great  value  for  both  diagnosis  and  treat- 
ment. This  exploration,  on  the  one  hand,  can 
bring  to  light  the  mechanism  by  which  a  patho- 
logical mental  state  has  been  produced,  and  on 
the  other,  furnish  hints  for  psychotherapeutic 
procedures.  It  has  been  shown  that  certain 
abnonnal  mental  states  usually  arise  from  an 
emotional  shock.  This  may  be  either  the  slow 
accumulation  of  emotional  experiences,  or  a 
rapid  mental  change  after  an  emotional  injury. 
The  abnormal  mental  experience  once  started 
tends  to  recur  or  to  reproduce  itself  automati- 
cally, particularly  in  states  of  fatigue  or  through 
association  of  ideas.  An  idea  related  to  the 
original  experience  will  often  set  going  all  the 
mental  and  physical  phenomena  which  had  oc- 
curred at  the  time  of  the  original  experience. 
This  forms  what  is  known  as  an  association 
neurosis.  In  many  of  these  functional  cases, 
the  mental  injury,  or  so-called  psychic  trauma, 
is  either  consciously  suppressed  by  the  subject 


212     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

or  the  subject  may  be  unable  to  recall  volunta- 
rily the  original  experience  in  memory.  In  the 
first  case,  we  speak  of  the  experience  as  sup- 
pressed or  dormant;  in  the  second,  we  say  that 
the  experience  is  subconscious  or  dissociated. 
Now  these  suppressed  or  subconscious  experi- 
ences may  do  considerable  harm,  and  bring 
about  a  severe  pathological  mental  condition. 
Such  experiences  may  cause  hysteria,  double  or 
multiple  personality,  or  they  may  give  rise  to 
peculiar  convulsive  attacks  of  a  purely  func- 
tional nature,  simulating  epilepsy  (psycho- 
epileptic  attacks).  Therefore,  it  frequently 
becomes  necessary  that  we  have  an  account  of 
the  experience  which  we  believe  responsible  for 
the  observed  pathological  phenomena.  Yet  in 
many  cases  the  subject  is  either  unwilling  to 
make  a  full  confession  and  so  suppresses  the 
incidents,  or  he  may  be  utterly  unable  to  recall 
them  because  they  are  subconscious  or  disso- 
ciated. We  then  must  have  recourse  to  some 
technical  procedure.  These  methods  of  tapping 
or  exploring  the  subconscious  mental  life  are 
known  as  psycho-analysis.  These  technical  pro- 
cedures are  hypnosis,  the  states  of  abstraction, 
free  association  procedures,  either  voluntary  or 
induced,  crystal  gazing,  automatic  writing,  the 
word  reaction  (association)  tests,  the  electrical 
l)henomena     (psycho-galvanic     reaction),     the 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  MENTAL  LIFE         213 

changes  in  the  pulse  rate  (psycho-cardiac  re- 
flex), and  finally  the  analysis  of  the  dream  life. 
When  one  or  several  of  these  methods  is  suc- 
cessfully applied,  we  can  often  arrive  at  some 
definite  result,  such  as  a  complete  confession 
on  the  part  of  the  subject,  and  thereby  a  break- 
ing down  of  certain  resistances,  the  synthesis  of 
certain  split  portions  of  consciousness,  the  work- 
ing out  of  certain  suppressed  feelings,  and 
finally  an  insight  into  emotional  experiences. 
When  these  experiences,  whether  dissociated  or 
dormant,  are  brought  into  full  consciousness, 
they  lose  their  baneful  influence  because  they 
cease  to  have  any  further  independent  activity. 
The  resistance  has  been  broken  down.  This  is 
a  long  step  toward  the  cure  of  the  patient.  If 
the  experiences  are  dissociated  and  the  cleavage 
between  the  conscious  mental  life  and  the  sub- 
conscious experience  can  be  permanently 
bridged  (synthetized),  here  again  the  dissociated 
experience  can  be  freed  from  any  abnormal 
activity.  In  dormant  experiences,  a  full  confes- 
sion, a  talking  out  of  all  the  details,  also  acts 
as  a  therapeutic  measure,  by  relieving  the  sub- 
ject of  his  secret. 

These  psycho-analytic  methods  require  for 
their  successful  practice  not  only  a  technical 
knowledge  of  abnormal  psychology,  but  presup- 
pose a  certain  amount  of  personal  skill  on  the 


2U  EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

part  of  the  operator.  They  require  time,  pa- 
tience and  experience,  and  an  ability  to  correctly 
interpret  the  conditions  found.  No  fragment 
of  memory,  emotion,  dream,  or  symptom  can  be 
ignored;  we  must  follow  the  mental  life  of  the 
subject  through  all  the  ramifications  of  the 
psycho-pathological  maze.  If  the  abnormal  ex- 
periences have  left  sufficient  traces  on  the 
nervous  system,  it  ought  to  be  possible  to 
recover  them  through  the  various  technical 
devices. 

In  order  for  any  line  of  treatment  to  be  suc- 
cessful, it  is  necessary  that  we  have  a  clear 
understanding  of  the  mental  processes  which 
underlie  the  diseased  condition  and  of  the  pa- 
tient's physical  state.  Unless  we  have  these 
data  at  hand,  no  form  of  suggestion  can  be 
successful.  Suggestion  is  unable  to  dogmati- 
cally assert  that  such  or  such  symptom  can  dis- 
appear, neither  can  it  blindly  replace  the  nor- 
mal for  the  abnormal. 

The  emotion  aroused  by  a  painful  experience 
is  accompanied  by  some  bodily  symptoms  which 
are  expressive  of  the  mental  aspect  of  the  emo- 
tions. This  emotion  may  then  fade  from  the 
patient's  consciousness,  either  because  the  pa- 
tient voluntarily  suppresses  it  or  because  it  is 
incompatible,  painful,  out  of  harmony  with  his 
character.     In  some  conditions,  the  subject  re- 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  MENTAL  LIFE         215 

mains  utterly  unable  to  recall  the  original  ex- 
perience, although  the  phenomena  which  accom- 
panied the  experience  may  persist  and  take  on 
an  automatic  activity.  Thus  the  physical  ex- 
pression of  the  emotional  experience,  whether  a 
state  of  fear,  a  convulsion,  or  a  disturbance  of 
sensibility,  continues  to  live  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  patient.  Now  the  mischief  that  has 
been  caused  by  these  experiences  may  be  an- 
nulled if  the  emotions  are  allowed  to  work  them- 
selves out  through  a  full  confession.  The  cast- 
ing out  of  these  demons  from  consciousness  is 
accomplished  by  what  is  known  as  the  cathartic 
method.  This  cathartic  method  is  nothing 
more  or  less  than  a  full  confession.  Nothing 
is  withheld,  all  the  gaps  in  memory,  all  the 
painful  emotions  and  associations,  all  the  dis- 
agreeable feelings,  the  patient  is  urged  to  bring 
vividly  before  his  mind  and  tell  them.  What- 
ever method  is  used  in  this  procedure,  whether 
hypnosis  or  abstraction,  is  merely  a  matter  of 
technic,  whose  object  is  to  extract,  as  it  were, 
the  mental  thorn  which  is  causing  the  mischief. 
The  original  emotional  experience  is  thus  side- 
tracked and  for  it  there  is  substituted  a  healthier 
mental  attitude.  In  other  cases,  if  the  experi- 
ence is  dissociated  and  not  merely  dormant,  a 
procedure  must  be  used  to  enable  the  subject 
to  recall  the  experience  in  consciousness.     This 


216    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

is  called  a  synthesis  of  the  dissociated  mental 
state. 

Freud,  however,  formerly  claimed  that  the 
necessary  condition  for  the  use  of  his  cathartic 
method  was  the  hypnotizability  of  the  patient, 
although  in  his  later  work  he  gave  up  hypnosis 
as  a  therapeutic  procedure  and  used  simple  ab- 
straction and  free  association.  The  method  is 
based  upon  the  broadening  of  consciousness  that 
takes  place  during  the  hypnotic  or  the  abstracted 
state.  From  the  standpoint  of  treatment,  the 
method  aimed  to  remove  the  symptoms  of  the 
disease  by  making  the  patient  return  to  the 
mental  state  or  experience  in  which  the  symp- 
toms manifested  themselves  fot  the  first  time. 
According  to  this  theory,  the  patient  must  have 
been  in  a  peculiar  semi- waking  (hypnoidal) 
state  at  the  time  of  the  original  emotional  ex- 
perience, and  it  was  this  abnormal  mental  state 
which  prevented  a  complete  synthesis  of  the 
experience  with  consciousness.  In  the  hypnotic 
state  or  in  abstraction,  memories,  thoughts,  and 
ideas  emerge  and,  after  these  mental  processes 
with  their  attached  emotions  have  been  com- 
municated to  the  physician,  the  symptoms  could 
be  overcome  and  their  recurrence  prevented. 
Thus,  when  the  psychic  process  that  was  caus- 
ing the  trouble  reached  consciousness,  it  became 
**  converted."      In    other    words,    the    hitherto 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  MENTAL  LIFE         217 

pent-up  emotions,  which  had  become  attached  to 
certain  experiences,  were  liberated. 

In  any  psycho-analytic  method,  it  can  be  noted 
that  the  patient  naturally  tends  to  repress  what 
is  painful  due  to  what  is  termed  resistance. 
Hence  gaps  in  the  memory  arise,  and  it  can 
be  found  that  these  gaps  relate  to  experiences 
having  a  strong  emotional  meaning.  By  per- 
sistence, however,  these  gaps  can  be  filled,  and 
when  once  the  emotional  experience  is  "  talked 
out,"  liberated,  a  sense  of  relief  is  experienced. 
No  psycho-analytic  method  is  as  simple  as  it 
appears,  because  many  of  these  abnormal  men- 
tal conditions  are  caused,  not  by  one,  but  by  an 
entire  series  of  emotional  experiences.  Until 
all  of  these  are  brought  to  consciousness,  the 
analysis  is  not  complete,  neither  is  the  cure 
permanently  established.  So  we  see  that  these 
psycho-analytic  methods  not  only  give  us  an 
insight  into  the  abnormal  mental  life,  but  have 
a  decided  therapeutic  value.  These  methods  of 
psycho-analysis  have  their  parallel  in  everyday 
life  in  perfectly  normal  individuals.  We  all 
feel  better  when  we  tell  a  secret  to  a  friend.  A 
sense  of  relief  is  experienced  when  one  is  de- 
pressed and  gloomy  and  has  the  "  cry  out." 
Even  suppressed  laughter  is  painful  if  one  is 
in  a  situation  where  laughter  would  be  indiscreet 
or  inadvisable.     In  spite  of  the  stress  laid  by 


218     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

the  various  investigators  upon  hypnosis,  abstrac- 
tion, or  automatic  writing,  these  methods  are 
mere  technical  devices.  Any  method  which  will 
enable  one  to  reach  suppressed  experiences  or 
to  sjnthetize  a  detached  state  of  consciousness, 
would  be  equally  effective.  Through  the  asso- 
ciation tests,  and  by  means  of  the  psycho- 
galvanic and  pulse  reactions,  we  can  often  trace 
the  memory  of  an  emotional  experience. 

It  is  to  Professor  Sigmund  Freud  of  Vienna 
that  we  are  indebted  for  the  psycho-analytic 
methods  in  certain  functional  neuroses,  particu- 
larly in  hysteria.  Professor  Freud  recently 
visited  this  country  and  gave  an  account  of  his 
theories  at  Clark  University.  Dr.  Putnam  has 
furnished  us  with  an  excellent  description  of 
the  evolution  of  these  psycho-analytic  methods 
in  Freud's  mind.'     He  says: 

"  In  brief,  the  history  of  Freud's  investigations  and 
opinions  is  the  following:  In  1881,  an  older  colleague, 
Dr.  J.  Breuer,  of  Vienna,  had  occasion  to  treat  an  in- 
telligent young  woman  suffering  from  hysteria  in  a 
serious  form  for  which  he  tried  the  usual  means  in 
vain.  At  length,  after  a  long  and  tireless  searching, 
he  found  that  the  facts  offered  by  the  patient  in  ex- 
planation of  her  illness,  although  they  were  freely  fur- 
nished and  represented  her  entire  history  so  far  as  she 
consciously  could  furnish  it,  constituted  only  a  tithe 
•J.  J.  Putnam:  "Sigmund  Freud  and  His  Work." — Journal 
Abnormal  Psychology,  Vol.  IV,  No.  5-6. 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  MENTAL  LIFE         219 

of  the  story  which,  in  the  end,  her  memory  succeeded 
in  drawing  from  its  depths.  Under  the  influence  of  a 
special  method  of  inquiry,  many  hidden  facts,  repre- 
senting painful  experiences  long  ago  forgotten,  came 
one  by  one  to  light  and  were  as  if  lived  over,  attended 
by  the  emotions  that  originally  formed  a  part  of  them. 
And  just  in  proportion  as  this  happened,  in  propor- 
tion as  the  dense  barriers  were  overcome  that  separated 
this  hidden  portion  of  the  patient's  past  from  that  of 
which  she  had  remained  consciously  aware,  one  and 
another  of  her  distressing  symptoms  dropped  away  and 
disappeared  forever.  The  details  of  the  long  and 
significant  history  of  this  case  cannot  be  given  here. 
Let  it  suffice  to  say  that  although  no  further  investi- 
gations based  on  it  were  undertaken  for  ten  years,  yet 
the  facts  observed  had  made  a  deep  impression  upon 
Dr.  Freud  and  were  meditated  on  by  him  during  this 
decade,  a  part  of  which  he  passed  as  a  student  of  Char- 
cot's in  Paris,  and  that  on  his  return  he  begged  Breuer 
to  take  the  matter  up  again.  After  this,  for  a  con- 
siderable length  of  time,  they  worked  together;  later 
Freud  alone.  It  became  gradually  more  and  more 
clear  to  them  that  the  childhood  of  this  patient  had 
been  in  an  unsuspected  degree  and  sense  the  parent  of 
her  later  years.  For  not  only  had  it  been  found  that 
many  of  the  events  which  counted  for  so  much  in  the 
production  of  her  illness  dated  back  to  days  of  early 
youth,  but  the  later  experiences  which  had  come  upon 
her,  one  after  another,  and  which  were  the  ostensible 
and  apparently  sufficient  causes  for  her  illness,  were 
discovered  to  owe  a  large  portion  of  their  power  for 


220    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

harm  to  the  fact  that  they  reproduced  in  a  new  shape 
old  emotions  of  childish  form  and  substance,  of  which, 
before  her  treatment,  she  would  truthfully  have  pro- 
fessed herself  to  be  entirely  unaware.  Only  when  these 
emotions  were  reached  and  the  experiences  correspond- 
ing to  them  lived  over,  in  memory  and  in  speech,  was 
the  recovery  complete.  ...  It  became  clear  to 
Breuer  and  Freud,  further,  and  in  harmony  with  the 
principle  just  expressed,  that  this  patient's  painful 
memories  of  the  past,  which  at  first  had  seemed  as  dead 
to  her  as  if  the  experiences  which  they  stood  for  never 
had  occurred,  represented  in  reality  living  and  acting 
forces.  And  not  only  this,  but  that  the  very  barriers 
which  had  to  be  overcome  in  reproducing  them  rep- 
resented living  and  active  forces  too,  all  vibrating  with 
significance  for  the  present  moment  and  for  the  details 
of  the  illness.  In  other  words,  the  term  *  barrier ' 
as  used  for  the  *  forgetting '  of  the  hysterical  patient, 
was  shown  to  be  a  misnomer.  Indeed,  the  forgetting 
of  persons  in  normal  health  is  largely  repression,  an 
active  process  of  lending  oneself  to  the  task  of  learning 
how  not  to  dwell  upon  a  subject  now  painful  but  which 
perhaps  had  once  a  powerful  interest.  It  has  often 
been  remarked  that  the  conscious  memory  picks  out  the 
pleasant  items  of  life  and  rejects  the  rest.  We  remem- 
ber the  charms  and  novelty  of  an  ocean  trip,  of  foreign 
travel,  and  conveniently  *  forget  * — in  reality  turn 
away  from — the  seasickness,  the  dirty  inns,  the  sleep- 
less nights.  It  was  the  significance  of  this  species  of 
forgetting  and  its  relation  to  sickness  and  to  health 
that  Freud  was  led  to  study,  and  to  which  he  has  devoted 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  MENTAL  LIFE         221 

all  the  powers  of  a  keen  and  well-trained  mind  for 
twenty  years.  In  the  course  of  these  investigations 
Freud  and  Jung  and  their  followers  have  dived  more 
deeply  than  any  one  before  into  the  mysteries  of  the 
unconscious  life.  These  investigations  were  inspired, 
primarily,  not  by  theory  but  by  the  recitals  of  patients 
who  had  been  helped  to  search  out  their  memories  and 
their  motives  to  a  degree  that  never  before  had  been 
made  possible.  New  evidence  has  thus  been  brought 
to  show  that  this  hidden  life,  if  technically  *  uncon- 
scious,' is  anything  but  inactive.  On  the  contrary,  it 
is  the  living  supplement  of  our  conscious  and  willed 
existences,  the  dwelling-place  and  working-place  of 
emotions  which  we  could  not  utilize  in  the  construction 
of  the  personality  that  we  had  shaped  and  rounded  and 
that  we  longed  to  think  of  as  standing  completely  for 
*  ourselves.'  " 

Thus  psycho-analysis  is  dependent  upon  the 
Freudian  conceptions  of  the  unconscious.  The 
gaps  and  defects  in  memory  which  appear  in 
every  psycho-analjrtic  procedure  are  due  to  re- 
pression, and  the  repression  itself  to  the  resist- 
ance which  sets  itself  against  the  revival  of 
unconscious  memories.  Thus  the  resistance  op- 
poses reproduction  of  the  unconscious  thoughts 
often  extending  back  to  the  earliest  years  of 
childhood  and  so  distorts  these  memories  that 
they  appear  only  in  a  disguised  and  symbolic 
form  in  consciousness,  either  as  the  dreams  of 
the  patient,  or  in  the  form  of  various  hysterical 


222    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

and  obsessional  manifestations.  The  greater 
the  resistance,  the  more  pronounced  the  distor- 
tion. A  psycho-analysis  cures,  therefore,  by 
overcoming  these  resistances  and  thus  by  means 
of  the  special  technique  brings  the  unconscious 
thoughts  to  the  full  consciousness  of  the  subject. 
All  psycho-analytic  treatment  is  a  constant 
struggle  against  newly-appearing  resistances, 
because  it  is  the  content  of  infantile  repressed 
memories  or  abnormal  emotional  fixations  or 
reactions  which  occur  in  early  childhood,  which 
are  responsible  for  the  development  of  a  psycho- 
neurosis  in  adult  life.  A  psycho-analysis  strikes 
complexes  and  forces  an  expression  of  repressed 
feelings,  in  the  same  way  that  the  play  within 
the  play  in  Hamlet  forces  a  confession  from  the 
guilty  King,  and  thus  subserves  the  purposes  of 
a  psycho-analysis.  Psycho-analysis  works  by 
both  breaking  down  resistances  and  by  a  mech- 
anism called  "  transference  "  which  is  really  a 
free  yielding  up  to  the  psycho-analytic  treat- 
ment. Into  these  important  factors,  whose 
management  constitutes  the  most  difficult  part 
of  psycho-analysis,  it  is  impossible  for  us  to 
go,  without  leading  too  far  into  technicalities. 
Psycho-analysis  has  had  its  opponents  and 
modifications,  in  an  attempt  to  break  away 
from  the  radical  conceptions  of  Freud.  How- 
ever, these  modifications,  while  introducing  sev- 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  MENTAL  LIFE         22S 

eral  new  hypotheses,  have  left  the  fundamental 
principles  unaltered.  The  most  recent  modifica- 
tions have  come  from  Adler  and  Jung.  Accord- 
ing to  the  former,  psycho-neuroses  develop  only 
in  those  whose  organism,  from  the  functional 
standpoint,  has  shown  a  defective  development. 
The  neurosis  arises  as  a  compensation  for  this 
defect,  rather  than  on  the  basis  of  a  repression. 

Jung  starts  out  with  the  proposal  to  liberate 
the  psycho-analytic  theory  from  the  purely 
sexual  standpoint.  He  considers  all  psycho- 
logical phenomena  as  manifestations  of  energy, 
which  energy  is  conceived  as  a  desire  or  a  libido 
in  the  widest  sense  of  the  term,  thus  making  it 
sjrnonymous  with  vital  energy  in  general  or 
with  Bergson's  elan  vital.  He  then  goes  on  to 
state:  ^  "  The  first  manifestation  of  this  energy 
in  the  suckling  is  the  instinct  of  nutrition. 
From  this  stage  the  libido  slowly  develops 
through  manifold  varieties  of  the  act  of  suck- 
ling into  the  sexual  function.  The  pleasure  in 
suckling  can  certainly  not  be  considered  as  a  sex- 
ual pleasure,  but  as  a  pleasure  in  nutrition."  ^ 

*  This  and  the  other  statements  of  Jung  are  quoted  from  his 
report  on  Psycho-analysis  to  the  International  Congress  of  Medi- 
cine— London,  1913   (Symposium  on  Psycho-analysis). 

•  In  order  that  this  conception  may  be  understood,  it  must 
be  stated  that  Jung  is  at  variance  with  the  Freudian  con- 
ception, which  asserts  that  the  suckling  instinct  in  babies  is  a 
manifestation  of  infantile  sexuality  and  may  be  independent  of 
its   relation   to  hunger. 


224    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

While  he  admits  that  infantile  sexual  fantasies 
may  determine  the  form  and  development  of  a 
neurosis,  he  does  not  believe  that  this  fantasy 
originated  the  neurosis.  They  are,  however, 
frequently  exaggerated  and  put  in  the  fore- 
ground of  the  neurosis,  because  of  the  activity 
of  the  stored-up  energy  previously  referred  to 
not  being  applied  in  a  suitable  manner. 

Thus  a  nervous  disease  usually  breaks  out  at  a 
tritical  moment  when  a  new  adjustment  or  adap- 
tation is  demanded.  The  failure  of  the  adap- 
tation causes  the  neurosis,  and  in  the  neurotic  this 
lack  of  adaptation  is  more  important  than  ab- 
normal fixations  dating  from  childhood.  How- 
ever, Jung  is  forced  to  admit  the  strong  part 
played  by  childhood  fixations,  particularly  the 
CEdipus-complex.  He  modifies  this  viewpoint 
by  claiming  that  while  fixation  is  persistently 
active,  it  is  only  under  certain  conditions  that 
it  becomes  disintegrated  and  thus  produces  a 
neurosis.  This  disintegration  usually  occurs 
when  new  psychological  adjustments  or  adapta- 
tions become  necessary  or  are  demanded,  a  fea- 
ture which  has  been  noted  by  every  neurologist 
and  is  usually  referred  to  in  popular  language 
as  a  "  nervous  breakdown."  The  stored-up 
energy  cannot  meet  the  new  obstacles,  there  is 
a  return  to  more  primitive  ways  of  adaptation 
(fixation),   in   other   words,    a    regression   has 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  MENTAL  LIFE         225 

taken  place.  Thus  sexual  regression  and  ndt 
sexual  repression  is  the  cause  of  an  outbreak 
of  a  neurosis. 

This  altered  view  of  the  etiology  of  the  neu- 
roses does  not  in  any  way  invalidate  the  pro- 
cedures of  psycho-analysis.  Jung  states  for 
instance  as  follows,  concerning  this  standpoint 
— "  Here  the  question  arises  whether  it  is  still 
advisable  to  bring  to  light  all  the  patient's 
fantasies  by  analysis,  if  we  now  consider  them 
as  of  no  etiological  significance.  Psycho- 
analysis hitherto  has  proceeded  to  the  unravel- 
ing of  these  fantasies  because  it  considered  them 
as  etiologically  significant.  My  altered  view 
concerning  the  theory  of  neurosis  does  not 
change  the  procedure  of  psycho-analysis.  The 
technic  remains  the  same.  We  no  longer 
imagine  we  are  unraveling  the  final  root  of  the 
disease,  but  we  have  to  haul  up  the  fantasies 
because  the  energy  which  the  patient  needs 
for  his  health,  i.e.,  for  his  adaptation,  is  at- 
tached to  the  sexual  fantasies.  Through  psycho- 
analysis you  re-establish  the  connection  between 
the  conscious  and  the  libido  in  the  unconscious. 
Thus  you  restore  this  unconscious  libido  to  the 
command  of  conscious  intention.  Only  in  this 
way  can  the  formerly  split-off  energy  become 
again  applicable  to  the  accomplishment  of  the 
necessary  tasks  of  life.     Considered  from  this 


226    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

standpoint,  psycho-analysis  no  longer  appears 
to  be  a  mere  reduction  of  the  individual  to  his 
primitive  sexual  wishes  and  it  becomes  clear 
that  psycho-analysis,  rightly  understood,  is  a 
highly  moral  task  of  an  immense  educational 
value"  ^ 

The  only  modification  in  Jung's  theory  of 
the  neuroses,  so  far  as  I  am  able  to  determine, 
is  an  etiological  one,  the  fundamental  principles 
of  the  relation  of  the  unconscious  to  the  con- 
scious remain  unchanged.  It  is  merely  a  dif- 
ference in  definite  causation  and  not  in  thera- 
peutic procedure. 

A  brief  report  of  a  simple  case  will  make  the 
subject  of  psycho-analysis  clearer.  This  case 
was  analyzed  by  means  of  the  abstraction 
method  and  the  association  tests.  A  woman 
complained  to  me  of  a  headache,  fatigue,  depres- 
sion, inability  to  make  up  her  mind  to  do  things, 
and  numbness,  stiffness,  and  a  decided  weak- 
ness of  the  left  hand.  This  latter  she  first 
noticed  while  attempting  to  put  on  a  pair  of 
gloves.  An  examination  disclosed  some  phys- 
ical signs  of  hysteria,  such  as  diminished  sensi- 
bility and  muscular  weakness  of  the  left  hand, 
and  a  limitation  of  the  field  of  vision.  When 
the  patient  was  placed  in  a  quiet,  relaxed  posi- 
tion, and  encouraged  to  tell  everything  concern- 
ing her  illness,  the  following  story  was  obtained : 

*The  italics  are  Jung's. 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  MENTAL  LIFE         227 

Her  sister-in-law  had  died  suddenly,  some  two 
months  previously.  At  the  funeral,  the  patient 
was  much  depressed  and  considerably  overcome 
by  emotion.  On  taking  off  her  gloves  that 
night,  on  her  return  from  the  funeral,  she  found 
that  the  left  hand  was  numb  and  weak.  Both 
the  numbness  and  the  weakness  covered  the 
exact  area  of  the  glove.  The  association  tests 
showed  a  distinct  lengthening  of  the  reaction 
time  when  test  words  relating  to  the  emotional 
experience  were  used  (such  words  as  funeral, 
sister,  flowers). 

For  fulness  of  record  and  psychological  in- 
sight, Dr.  Prince's  case  of  Miss  Beauchamp  is 
an  example  of  what  may  be  accomplished 
through  psycho-analysis.  The  record  of  this 
case  also  emphasizes  the  fact  that  the  psycho- 
analysis is  neither  a  mere  euphuism  nor  a 
synonym  for  a  kind  of  psychological  "  third 
degree."  It  means  mental  analysis  gained 
through  the  utilization  of  all  sorts  of  psychologi- 
cal devices,  long  patient  observation,  the  care- 
ful sifting  of  material  and  the  unprejudiced 
interpretation  of  all  the  data  gained.  The 
secret  of  Miss  Beauchamp's  several  personalities 
lay  unrevealed  until  it  was  discovered  that  the 
Miss  B.  who  applied  for  treatment  was  not  the 
original  self.  After  long  observation  the  prob- 
lem was  solved  through  the  sudden  appearance 


228     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

of  a  strange  individual  who  went  back  to  an 
emotional  experience  six  years  earlier.  It  was 
this  experience  which  led  to  the  complex  mental 
dissociation  that  formed  the  various  personali- 
ties. The  neurasthenic  Miss  Beauchamp  who 
sought  medical  advice  was  but  one  of  this  group 
of  personalities.  After  the  details  of  the  ex- 
periences are  given  the  narrative  goes  on  to  say, 
*'  Then  she  began,  according  to  Sally's  account, 
gradually  to  change  in  character.  She  became 
nervous,  excitable,  and  neurasthenic.  All  her 
peculiarities  became  exaggerated.  She  became 
unstable  and  developed  aboulia.^  She  grew, 
too,  abnormally  religious.  There  was  no  seri- 
ous objection  then  to  regarding  B.  I.^  as  a 
quasi-disintegrated  somnambulistic  person,  in 
spite  of  the  continuity  of  her  memory." 

In  one  case  of  nocturnal  paralysis,  it  was 
possible,  through  psycho-analytic  methods,  to 
trace  the  pathological  condition  back  to  an 
emotional  shock  which  had  occurred  several 
years  previously. 

Psycho-Analysis  of  a  Case  of  Hysteria 
We  are  now  prepared  to  give  the  detailed 
analysis  of  a  complex  case  of  hysteria,  with  the 
aid  of   some  of  the  technical   devices   already 

*  Weakness  of  will  power. 

*  One  of  the  personalities,  in  fact  the  personality  who  applied 
for  treatment  on  account  of  her  neurasthenic  symptoms. 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  MENTAL  LIFE         229 

enumerated.  In  the  interpretation  of  this  case, 
the  problem  will  be  approached  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  theory  which  states  that  hysteria 
represents  a  state  of  mental  dissociation.  This 
theory  has  given  us  a  clearer  understanding  of 
the  psychical  mechanism  underlying  the  various 
hysterical  manifestations  than  any  other  theory 
with  which  we  are  acquainted. 

Miss  F.  for  a  number  of  years  had  suffered 
at  various  intervals  from  peculiar  attacks  con- 
sisting of  headache,  palpitation  of  the  heart,  and 
twitching  of  both  arms,  particularly  the  left 
arm.  Each  attack  was  of  several  months'  dura- 
tion. In  the  intervals  between  the  attacks  she 
was  perfectly  well.  Sometimes  the  twitching 
was  so  severe  that  the  patient  was  compelled 
to  go  to  bed  for  a  week  at  a  time,  and  on  one 
of  these  occasions,  she  was  in  a  stuporous  con- 
dition for  two  days.  The  attacks  are  said  to 
have  followed  an  emotional  experience  when  the 
patient  was  eight  years  of  age,  a  fright  at  seeing 
her  cousin  disguised  in  white  to  resemble  a 
ghost.  While  the  patient  had  heard  of  this  ex- 
perience in  general,  she  has  never  been  able 
to  recall  it  in  detail.  Sometimes  in  the  attacks 
she  feels  peculiarly,  as  if  she  were  not  herself; 
on  other  occasions  there  is  no  sensation  of  the 
left  side  of  the  body,  so  that  she  is  able  to  strike 
and  bite  her  left  arm  without  pain. 


230    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

A  physical  examination  showed  some  of  the 
physical  signs  of  stigmata  of  hysteria,  such  as 
loss  of  sensation  on  the  left  side  of  the  body, 
weakness  of  the  left  arm,  and  a  limitation  of 
both  fields  of  vision  to  between  35°  and  40°.^ 
In  this  case,  however,  as  in  most  hysterical  con- 
ditions, the  mental  state  was  the  most  important 
phenomenon  as  presenting  a  type  of  disintegra- 
tion of  the  personality.  An  analysis  of  this 
mental  state  showed  many  interesting  phenom- 
ena, such  as  extreme  suggestibility,  instability 
of  character,  abnormal  emotionahsm,  amnesia, 
illusions  of  memory,  and  the  presence  of  sub- 
conscious mental  states,  in  which  episodically  the 
almost  complete  disintegration  of  personaHty 
became  very  marked.  Furthermore  it  was  pos- 
sible to  show  that  these  protean  symptoms  fol- 
lowed an  emotional  experience,  which  became 
subconscious  and  assumed  an  independent 
activity. 

Analysis  throtigh  Hypnosis 

Miss  F.  was  very  easily  hypnotized,  with 
amnesia  (loss  of  memory)  on  awakening  from 
the  hypnotic  state.  In  this  artificial  condition, 
she  was  able  to  recall  vividly  all  the  details  of 
the  emotional  experience,  but  on  being  awak- 

*The  field  of  vision  in  normal  individuals  varies  between  90" 
and  a  minitnum  of  60**. 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  MENTAL  LIFE         231 

ened,  she  again  became  amnesic  for  this  experi- 
ence. While  hypnotized  and  asked  to  relate 
the  ghost  experience,  she  gives  the  accomit  as 
follows  in  laconic  sentences  and  in  a  very  dra- 
matic manner.  "  Seem  to  see  it  all  now.  The 
door  opens.  He  is  coming  out  of  the  room.  I 
see  the  white  over  him.  He  makes  a  noise.  He 
comes  near  me.  It  is  dark.  All  I  can  see  is 
the  white,  and  I  scream.  He  tells  me  it  is  he 
and  not  to  cry.  I  was  taken  to  the  bed.  I 
don't  remember  from  that  mitil  the  doctor 
came."  In  the  same  hypnotic  state  she  also 
gave  some  further  details  of  her  experience,  in 
which  she  struggled,  bit,  and  was  finally  ren- 
dered unconscious  through  the  use  of  chloroform. 
iThe  emotional  shock  occurred  when  the  patient 
was  only  eight  years  of  age,  and  we  hope  to 
show  that  the  dissociating  eflFect  of  this  emotion 
was  directly  responsible  for  the  mental  and 
physical  aspects  of  her  hysterical  condition. 
While  relating  these  experiences  in  hypnosis, 
the  emotional  reaction  was  quite  dramatic.  She 
sighed,  shivered,  grated  and  gnashed  the  teeth, 
the  whole  body  trembled,  the  left  arm  twitched, 
and  the  facial  muscles  became  distorted  into  an 
aspect  of  agony  and  fear.  Occasionally  she 
would  scream  "  Ghost,"  "  white,"  "  that  smell." 
In  other  words  while  hypnotized,  the  patient 
lived  over  again  the  harrowing  experiences  of 


232     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

years  previous.  On  being  awakened  from  hjrp- 
nosis  even  in  the  midst  of  the  state  of  fear,  all 
abnormal  symptoms  would  cease  at  once  (ex- 
cept the  twitching  of  the  left  arm).  The  pa- 
tient had  no  recollection  of  either  the  peculiar 
phenomena  during  hypnosis  or  of  her  narra- 
tion of  the  experiences.  The  loss  of  sensation 
on  one  half  of  the  body  persisted  even  during 
the  hypnotic  state. 

On  several  occasions,  while  she  was  hypno- 
tized, the  dissociation  became  more  marked. 
When  she  was  carried  back  to  a  period  ante- 
dating these  experiences  she  did  not  know  where 
she  was,  had  never  heard  of  the  ghost  episodes, 
and  denied  all  knowledge  of  contemporaneous 
current  events.  In  fact  she  was  Hving  over  her 
early  school  days  again,  and  once  gave  a  vivid 
account  of  a  fire  at  school  during  these  early 
days  of  childhood.  While  in  this  latter  state 
of  her  early  childhood  personality,  it  was  noted 
that  the  loss  of  sensation  had  disappeared  and 
all  abnormal  emotional  reaction  had  ceased.  If 
while  in  this  state  she  was  again  carried  forward 
to  the  time  of  the  experience,  the  sensory  dis- 
turbances not  only  returned,  but  the  same  attack 
of  emotional  reaction  would  take  place.  Here 
we  seem  to  be  dealing  with  the  birth  of  a 
new  but  temporary  personality.  Through  this 
method  of  analysis  of  the  mental  condition  in 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  MENTAL  LIFE         233 

the  hypnotic  state,  it  was  furthermore  demon- 
strated that  the  twitching  of  the  arms  first  oc- 
curred at  the  time  of  the  emotional  shock.  The 
fact  that  this  twitching  was  absent  when  the 
hypnotized  subject  was  carried  back  to  a  period 
antedating  these  experiences,  and  appeared  im- 
mediately when  she  was  carried  forward  to  the 
experiences  again,  is  a  proof  of  the  hysterical 
mechanism  in  this  particular  condition.  The 
abnormal  hysterical  phenomena  were  therefore 
caused  by  a  certain  emotional  experience,  which 
was  responsible  for  the  dissociation. 

Analysis  by  the  Association  Method 

This  case  was  also  analyzed  by  the  associa- 
tion method,  with  the  following  results: 

In  order  for  retardation  to  take  place  in  the 
association  tests,  the  emotional  experiences  which 
cause  the  mental  retardation  or  slowness  must 
be  present  in  the  memory  of  the  subject,  al- 
though it  may  be  suppressed  or  dormant.  How- 
ever, after  a  cure,  retardation  does  not  take 
place,  even  though  the  experiences  are  present 
in  memory,  because  the  emotion  aroused  by  the 
test  word  then  finds  a  normal  path  of  discharge. 
The  application  of  these  tests  to  the  case  of 
Miss  F.  gave  interesting  results  and  showed  the 
effect  of  the  emotional  experiences  upon  the 
workings  of  her  mind.    In  the  waking  condition, 


28*  EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

painful  test  words  caused  no  retardation,  be- 
cause the  patient  could  not  recall  her  experi- 
ences. When  these  same  words  were  used  while 
the  patient  was  in  an  hypnotic  state,  where  the 
memory  of  the  experiences  could  be  recalled,  the 
retardation  became  very  marked.  The  test 
words  were  chosen  from  the  emotional  experi- 
ences and  the  reaction  to  all  the  words  showed 
a  marked  slowness  of  reaction.  These  tests 
demonstrated  that  the  experiences  acted  as  a 
strong  emotional  factor  in  the  hysterical  dissocia- 
tion, otherwise  a  slowness  of  reaction  could  not 
have  taken  place. 

Association    Tests   Before   Recovery: — In   the   waking   state,   in 
which  there  was  no  memory  of  her  experiences} 


Reaction 

Reaction 

Test 

Reaction 

Time 

Test 

Reaction 

Time 

Word 

Word 

(in  seconds) 

Word 

Word 

(in  seconds) 

White 

Rose 

0.8 

Hand 

Body 

2.8 

Food 

Eat 

1.4 

SmeU 

Scent 

3.2 

Bite 

Feeling 

0.8 

It  will  be  noted  in  the  above  series,  that  the 
reaction  time  is  very  short,  although  the  words 
used  refer  directly  to  the  experiences  which 
caused  the  hysterical  state.     In  hypnosis,  asso- 

*Only  the  words  referring  to  the  experiences  are  given.  Some 
of  the  words  were  taken  from  details  of  the  emotional  experience, 
which  it  Vfos  not  thought  necessary  to  relate  here.  The  reaction 
time  in  this  particular  case  for  indifferent  words  such  as  "  hungry," 
"street,"  "book,"  varied  from  eight-tenths  of  a  second  to  three 
seconds. 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  MENTAL  LIFE         235 

ciation  tests  were  again  tried,  with  identical 
words.  If  the  reader  will  compare  this  list  with 
the  one  previously  given,  he  will  notice  that  it 
took  the  patient  much  longer  to  give  the  asso- 
ciated word  and  furthermore,  the  reaction  word 
itself,  instead  of  being  an  indifferent  one,  related 
closely  to  the  experiences. 

In   the   Hypnotic   State    in    Which    the   Experiences    Could   Be 

Recalled 


Reaction 

Reaction 

Test 

Reaction         Time 

Test 

Reaction        Time 

Word 

Word      (in  seconds) 

Word 

Word      (in  seconds) 

White 

Ghost               6.4 

Hand 

Thing  I  saw           4. 

Food 

Eat                12  A 

SmeU 

Handkerchief         6.4 

Bite 

What  I  did         6.8 

After  the  patient  was  cured  through  a  syn- 
thesis of  the  dissociated  states,  the  retardation 
time  disappeared,  both  in  the  waking  state  and 
in  hypnosis.  At  this  place  it  might  be  well  to 
point  out,  that  after  the  cure  the  patient  was 
able  to  recall  all  details  of  her  experiences  while 
in  the  normal  waking  condition,  whereas  previ- 
ously this  could  only  be  done  when  the  patient 
was  hypnotized. 

Association  Tests  in  Both  the  Waking  and  Hypnotic  State  After 

Recovery 

Reaction  Reaction 

Time  Test  Reaction        Time 

(in  seconds)  Word         Word      (in  seconds) 

9.2  Hand  Body  1.6 

I.  Smell  Handkerchief      4. 

1.8 


Test 

Reaction 

Word 

Word 

White 

Pink 

Food 

Eat 

Bite 

Feeling 

236    EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

Analysis  hy  the  Pulse  Reaction  Tests 

When  the  patient  was  placed  in  a  state  of 
abstraction^  (not  hypnotized),  by  listening  to 
a  monotonous  sound  stimulus  and  asked  to  think 
of  words  connected  with  the  experiences  for 
which  she  had  no  memory,  the  pulse  rate  would 
become  more  rapid,  the  increase  varying  from 
four  to  twelve  beats  a  minute.  Indifferent  test 
words  caused  no  change  in  the  pulse  rate.  [See 
Fig.  VI.]     After  a  cure  through  synthesis,  this 

^  too 


2/N/N/\^ 


Fio.  VI. — A  portion  of  the  pulse  curve  in  the  case  of  hysteria 
analyzed  in  the  text.  Note  how  sudden  rises  took  place  in  the 
curve  when  test  words  relating  to  the  subject's  emotional  ex- 
periences were  used.  These  same  test  words  also  caused  a 
lengthening  of  the  reaction  time  in  the  association  experiments. 

No.  1  refers  to  test  word  white;  No.  2,  to  test  word  food; 
No.  3,  to  test  word  smell;  No.  4,  to  test  word  bite. 

The  numbers  above  the  curve  indicate  the  pulse  beats  per 
minute. 

increase  of  the  pulse  rate  failed  to  take  place 
when  the  same  test  words  were  used.  [See  Fig. 
VII.]  It  was  observed  that  the  same  test  words 
which    caused    an    increase   in    the    pulse    rate 

*In  abstraction,  the  patient  could  not  recall  any  of  her  ex- 
periences, but  could  in  hypnosis.  Therefore,  in  a  state  of  abstrac- 
tion, these  experiences  still  remained  dissociated. 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  MENTAL  LIFE         287 

also  caused  a  mental  slowness  in  the  association 
tests.  In  a  case  of  multiple  personality  reported 
by  Prince  and  Peterson  ^  it  was  likewise  demon- 

••  *•       *•  ^ 

Fio.  VII. — A  portion  of  the  pulse  curve  in  the  same  subject  given 
in  Fig.  VI.,  after  recovery.  Note  how  the  same  test  words  now 
fail  to  cause  any  increase  of  the  pulse  rate.  The  numbers 
below  the  curve  refer  to  the  same  test  words  as  in  Fig.  VI.  The 
numbers  above  the  curve  indicate  the  pulse  beats  per  minute. 

strated  that  electrical  reactions  took  place  when 
test  words  connected  with  subconscious  emo- 
tional experiences  were  used.  These  experiences 
could  not  be  voluntarily  reproduced  in  con- 
sciousness as  memory,  but  appeared  in  dreams 
or  could  be  reproduced  in  the  hypnotic  state. 
It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  subconscious  men- 
tal processes  can  cause  electrical  reactions  and 
pulse  variations  in  the  same  manner  as  conscious 
processes. 

How  the  Hysteria  Was  Cured 

Since  it  seemed  evident  from  an  analysis  of 
this  case,  that  the  hysterical  condition  was  due 
to  certain  dissociated  emotional  experiences,  it 
ought  to  be  possible"  to  cure  a  case  of  this  kind 

* "  Experiments  in  Psycho-Galvanic  Reactions  from  Co- 
Consdous  (Subconscious)  Ideas  in  a  case  of  Multiple  Personality." 
— Journal  Abnormal  Psychology,  June-July,  1908,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  9. 


288     EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

by  synthetizing  or  uniting  these  dissociated  ex- 
periences with  the  normal  waking  consciousness. 
In  other  words,  the  hysterical  mischief  would 
stop  if  the  spUt  mind  were  made  whole  again, 
thus  depriving  the  split-off  experiences  from 
any  further  independent  activity.  In  hypnosis 
it  was  suggested  to  the  patient  that  on  awaken^ 
ing  a  complete  memory  of  the  dissociated  ex- 
periences would  persist.  This  was  finally  suc- 
cessfully accomplished,  the  treatment  through 
synthesis  covering  a  period  of  several  weeks. 
The  patient  then  remembered  all  the  details  of 
the  two  experiences,  and  in  addition,  the  loss  of 
sensation  disappeared,  the  visual  field  became 
normal,  and  no  further  attacks  of  twitching  took 
place.  Furthermore,  as  previously  indicated, 
the  time  for  association  of  words  having  an  emo- 
tional meaning  became  normal  and  no  further 
increase  of  the  pulse  rate  took  place  when  these 
same  test  words  were  used.  Any  further  nar- 
ration of  the  emotional  experiences,  either  in  the 
waking  state  or  in  hypnosis,  was  unaccompanied 
by  the  emotional  reaction  previously  described. 


PART  II 

THE  DISEASES  OF  THE 
SUBCONSCIOUS 


CHAPTER  I 

LOSSES  OF   MEMORY 

The  subject  of  memory  is  a  complex  one. 
Only  its  most  essential  points  can  be  discussed, 
in  order  to  make  clear  the  chief  subject-matter 
of  this  chapter — namely,  the  diseases  of  memory. 
With  memory,  as  with  sleep,  the  biological  in- 
terpretation has  been  the  most  fruitful  of  re- 
sults.    What,  then,  is  memory? 

Memory,  hke  irritabihty  and  reproduction,  is 
one  of  the  phenomena  of  living  matter.  Mem- 
ory may  be  defined  as  the  characteristics  or 
traces  retained  by  the  nervous  substance  from 
previous  reactions  or  stimuli.  Of  the  exact 
nature  of  this  trace  we  are  in  the  dark:  we 
only  know  that  something  is  retained  and  this 
something  is  reproduced.  The  reproduction  of 
stimuli  is  usually  in  the  order  in  which  the 
stimuli  are  stored  up,  one  stimulus  leading  up 
to  or  calling  forth  the  next  one,  in  a  serial  repro- 
duction psychologically  known  as  association  or 
associative  memory.  Memory,  therefore,  can  be 
reduced  to  two  simple  biological  phenomena — 
conservation  or  storing  up  of  impressions  or 
experiences  and  their  later  reproduction.    Recog- 

241 


242       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

nition  and  localization  in  the  past  are  supposed 
to  be  a  part  of  the  act  of  memory,  but  these  are 
merely  the  conscious  accompaniment  of  the 
biological  reaction.  They  are  unnecessary  for 
memory,  for,  as  will  be  shown  later  in  the  course 
of  this  chapter,  memory  can  exist  without  either 
localization  or  recognition.  Destroy  conserva- 
tion and  reproduction  and  memory  ceases  to 
exist;  preserve  these  and  destroy  localization 
and  recognition,  memory  is  still  there  as  a  bio- 
logical phenomenon,  but  without  the  psychologi- 
cal element. 

Let  us  take  a  few  simple  examples  of  storing 
up  and  reproduction  of  physical  stimuH  and 
apply  these  to  the  phenomena  of  memory.  If 
one  talks  into  the  plain  waxen  cylinder  of  a 
phonograph,  then  places  the  cylinder  back  to  its 
starting  point  and  again  sets  the  instrument 
going,  the  words  are  produced  in  the  exact  order 
in  which  the  cylinder  stored  them  up.  This  is 
conservation  and  reproduction  from  a  physical 
standpoint,  based  upon  the  laws  of  sound  vibra- 
tion produced  by  the  human  voice.  Take  a 
more  complex  example.  Look  steadily  at  a 
bright  light  for  a  few  seconds,  then  close  the 
eyes,  and  for  a  brief  interval  we  perceive  the 
sensation  of  light,  after  the  stimulus  which  pro- 
duced it  has  ceased  to  act.  In  this  case,  the 
retina  of  the  eye,  by  virtue  of  the  peculiar  con- 


LOSSES  OF  MEMORY  243 

struction  of  its  nerve  elements,  has  stored  up 
those  other  vibrations  which  produce  Hght.  The 
sensation,  however,  has  outlasted  for  some  little 
time  the  stimulus  which  occasioned  it,  and  we 
have  what  is  known  in  physiology  as  the  retinal 
after-image.  This  teaches  us  that  one  tendency 
of  the  nerve  tissue  is  to  repeat  physiologically 
its  previous  reactions  or  stimuli.  Probably  the 
same  action  but  far  more  complex,  takes  place 
within  the  brain  in  the  mechanism  of  memory. 
Hering  has  given  us  a  vivid  description  of  the 
biological  aspect  of  memory.*  "  It  is  well 
known  that  sensuous  perceptions,  if  constantly 
repeated  for  a  time,  are  impressed  into  what  we 
call  the  memory  of  the  senses,  in  such  a  way 
that  often  after  hours,  and  even  after  we  have 
been  busy  with  a  hundred  other  things,  they  sud- 
denly return  into  consciousness  in  the  full,  sensu- 
ous vivacity  of  their  original  perception.  We 
thus  experience  how  whole  groups  of  sensations, 
properly  regulated  in  their  spatial  and  temporal 
connections,  are  so  vividly  reproduced  as  to  be 
like  reality  itself.  This  clearly  shows  that  after 
the  extinction  of  conscious  sensations,  some  ma- 
terial vestiges  still  remain  in  our  nervous  sys- 
tem, implying  a  change  of  its  molecular  and 
atomic   structure,   by   which   the   nervous   sub- 

*  E.  Hering:  "  Memory  and  the  Specific  Energies  of  the  Nervous 
System." 


244       DISEASES  OF   THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

stance  is  enabled  to  reproduce  such  physical 
processes  as  are  connected  with  the  correspond- 
ing psychical  processes  of  sensations  and  per- 
ceptions." 

For  the  act  of  memory  two  essentials  are  nec- 
essary: first — a  nervous  system  in  such  a  stage 
of  development  that  a  brain  is  present,  and 
secondly,  the  absolute  integrity  of  such  a  nerv- 
ous system  or  brain.  Without  the  first,  memory 
is  impossible;  if  the  brain  be  totally  or  par- 
tially destroyed,  either  through  disease  or  for 
the  purpose  of  physiological  experiment,  there 
is  either  a  total  or  partial  loss  of  memory.  For 
instance,  in  the  destruction  of  a  certain  portion 
of  the  brain  of  man  through  disease,  we  may 
have  a  partial  loss  of  memory  for  words,  known 
as  aphasia.  On  the  other  hand,  a  brainless  ani- 
mal is  absolutely  without  the  slightest  vestige 
of  memory.  Take  two  frogs,  one  of  which  has 
been  blinded  and  the  other  without  brain.  Place 
both  in  positions  of  danger,  the  blinded  frog 
attempts  to  escape,  the  brainless  frog  remains 
quiet,  although  the  danger  has  reached  the  point 
of  death,  because  the  brainless  frog  possesses 
no  memory  of  its  previous  positions  of  danger. 
Furthermore,  it  cannot  learn  anything  new,  be- 
cause memory  is  necessary  for  the  act  of  learn- 
ing. In  Goltz's  famous  experiment  of  the  dog, 
from  which  he  removed  the  brain,  the  animal 


LOSSES  OF  MEMORY  245 

showed  no  spontaneous  movements,  neither  did 
it  recognize  its  master.  In  certain  states  of 
dementia  where  the  brain  is  profoundly  diseased 
there  is  always  a  marked  disorder  of  memory. 
In  some  experiments  on  cats  and  monkeys,  it 
was  shown  that,  when  the  frontal  lobes  of  the 
brain  were  destroyed,  recently  formed  habits 
and  associations  were  lost. 

It  has  been  shown  that  normal  memory  con- 
sists of  several  elements,  some  physiological  and 
some  psychological.  Essential  are  conservation 
and  reproduction;  non-essential,  yet  entering 
into  the  act  of  memory  and  completing  it,  are 
recognition  and  locaUzation  in  the  past.  Con- 
servation and  reproduction  are  the  physiological 
elements,  and  for  these  physiological  elements 
or  sensations  to  leave  their  traces  in  the  nervous 
system  it  is  necessary  that  they  endure  a  cer- 
tain length  of  time.  These  sensations  as  a  rule 
outlast  for  some  little  time  the  objective  stimu- 
lus which  occasioned  them.  This  is  the  explana- 
tion of  retinal  after  images  to  which  we  previ- 
ously referred  and  it  is  also  this  physiological 
mechanism  which  forms  the  basis  of  habits. 
Habits  are  memories,  but  unconscious  memories, 
because  unaccompanied  by  thought. 

The  non-essential  elements  in  memory  are 
recognition  and  localization  in  the  past.  All 
localization  of  past  experiences  undergoes  what 


246       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

we  may  call  "  foreshortening,"  due  to  the  omission 
of  large  numbers  of  events  by  which  the  present 
is  bridged  with  the  past.  Without  these  omis- 
sions, recollection  would  be  a  tedious  act;  for 
instance,  before  we  could  recall  the  events  of  a 
hohday  a  year  ago  it  would  be  necessary  to  fill 
up  in  consciousness  all  the  details  of  the  inter- 
vening gap.  We  do  not  do  this,  however.  We 
simply  jump  the  gap. 

In  abnormal  memory,  one  or  several  of  its 
elements  may  be  disturbed,  producing  some 
form  of  what  is  known  as  amnesia.  Amnesia 
is  an  inability  to  reproduce  memories  for  cer- 
tain events.  This  inability  of  reproduction  may 
be  due  to  actual  destruction  or  to  mere  dissocia- 
tion. If  the  former,  the  memory  cannot  be 
restored  through  special  psychological  devices. 
If  the  latter,  restoration  in  most  cases  is  pos- 
sible. For  instance,  in  certain  organic  brain 
diseases,  after  epileptic  or  hysterical  attacks  or 
convulsions,  sometimes  following  severe  blows 
to  the  head,  or  after  emotional  shocks,  the  mem- 
ory for  a  certain  period  may  be  either  destroyed 
or  dissociated.  In  an  epileptic  who  came  under 
personal  observation,  a  series  of  convulsive 
seizures  was  followed  by  an  amnesia  of  five 
years.  In  another  epileptic,  a  very  slight  dizzy 
attack  was  followed  by  a  loss  of  memory  for 
eighteen  days.     The  memory   for  this  period 


LOSSES  OF  MEMORY  247 

was  never  spontaneously  recovered,  thus  prov- 
ing an  absolute  destruction  and  not  a  mere 
dissociation. 

While  in  an  intoxicated  condition  a  man  re- 
ceived a  blow  on  the  head  while  resisting  arrest. 
Following  the  injury  he  was  unconscious  for 
eight  or  ten  hours,  and  on  regaining  conscious- 
ness found  that  he  was  unable  to  recall  any 
events  of  the  week  previous.  The  memories  of 
the  amnesic  period  have  never  spontaneously 
returned,  although  a  period  of  several  years  has 
elapsed.  His  only  knowledge  of  the  events  of 
that  week  comes  through  information  gathered 
from  friends.  None  of  the  memories  returned 
in  dreams. 

The  destruction  or  dissociation  of  memory  in 
amnesia  usually  comprises  those  impressions 
which  are  least  highly  organized.  According  to 
well-recognized  laws  of  association  it  is  just 
such  elements  which  immediately  precede  the 
physical  or  psychical  injury  which  are  destroyed 
in  amnesia,  making  a  condition  known  as  retro- 
grade amnesia.  These  particular  groups  of 
memories  are  involved  because  they  are  loosely 
organized.  Sometimes  conservation  primarily  is 
disturbed;  the  impressions  vanish  as  soon  as  re- 
ceived, making  what  is  known  as  continuous 
amnesia,  a  condition  which  is  very  marked  in 
senile  dementia  and  in  certain  cases  of  alcoholic 


248       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

brain  disease.  It  may  be,  however,  that  this 
form  of  amnesia  is  only  an  apparent  one — the 
residuals  may  persist  in  the  nervous  system, 
but  cannot  be  consciously  reproduced.  In 
Janet's  case  of  Mme.  D.,^  for  example,  the  con- 
tinuous amnesia  followed  a  severe  emotional 
shock.  The  patient  forgot  the  experiences  of 
her  everyday  Hfe  as  fast  as  they  occurred.  Dur- 
ing sleep,  however,  she  called  out  the  names  of 
the  physicians  who  attended  her  during  the  day, 
thus  proving  that  her  dreams  had  their  origin 
in  her  waking  experiences,  which  must  have  been 
stored  up  and  left  their  traces. 

In  other  cases  of  amnesia  the  power  of  repro- 
duction alone  is  at  fault.  The  experiences  or 
impressions  are  stored  up,  but  voluntary  repro- 
duction is  impossible,  a  dissociation  has  taken 
place,  although  the  experiences  may  be  repro- 
duced or  synthetized  through  special  devices. 
Most  cases  of  amnesia  are  of  this  latter  type. 

That  localization  in  the  past  is  not  a  necessary 
concomitant  of  the  act  of  memory  is  shown  by 
several  cases  of  extensive  amnesia,  particularly 
in  the  case  of  Miss  Beauchamp  and  in  the  case 
of  Susan  N.  In  these  cases,  isolated  memories 
would  suddenly  flash  into  consciousness  without 
any  concomitant  time  association  or  the  recog- 

*  Pierre  Janet:  **L' Amnesic  Continue." — Nevrotet  et  Idies  Fixet, 
Vol.  I. 


LOSSES  OF  MEMORY  249 

nition  of  the  memories  as  portions  of  the  per- 
sonal experience.  They  were  mere  scrappy  and 
fragmentary  automatisms,  not  synthetized  with 
the  personal  consciousness  and,  therefore,  looked 
upon  by  the  subject  as  strange,  unfamiliar,  and 
isolated  ideas. 

If  both  recognition  and  localization  are  dis- 
turbed, there  results  a  distortion  or  an  illusion 
of  memory,  known  as  paramnesia.  The  inter- 
esting subject  of  paramnesia  will  be  briefly  dis- 
cussed in  the  course  of  another  chapter.  If 
memory  for  particular  concepts  is  at  fault,  for 
instance  the  memories  of  the  sounds  of  words  or 
for  the  names  of  things,  we  have  what  is  known 
as  aphasia. 

Amnesias  are  systematized  when  they  com- 
prise all  the  memories  of  a  period,  localized 
when  they  take  in  memories  of  a  certain  epoch 
of  hfe,  and  general  when  the  subject  has  no 
recollection  of  any  of  his  previous  life.  Cases 
have  been  observed  that  confirm  all  these  types. 

It  will  be  impossible  to  give  an  extended 
account  of  the  various  cases  of  amnesia  that  have 
been  studied  and  pubhshed.  The  reader  who 
is  interested  in  the  subject  may  consult  the 
bibliographies  appended  to  my  papers  in  the 
Journal  of  Abnormal  Psychology.^ 

•  Isador  H.  Coriat:  "The  Experimental  Synthesis  of  the  Dis- 
sociated   Memories    in    Alcoholic    Amnesia." — Journal    Abnormal 


250       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

The  Lowell  Case  of  Amnesia  throws  light  on 
many  obscure  problems  of  amnesia.  Susan  N., 
an  intelligent  middle-aged  school-teacher,  left 
home  on  a  certain  day  in  March,  1906.  Until 
she  was  later  recognized  by  her  relatives  in 
August  of  the  same  year,  her  family  had  abso- 
lutely no  explanation  of  her  disappearance. 
During  this  time,  however,  a  number  of  rather 
startling  dramatic  episodes  occurred,  for  which 
she  later  had  no  recollection.  She  wandered 
from  place  to  place,  adopted  various  fictitious 
names,  such  as  "  Mrs.  Sarah  Wilson,"  "  Mrs. 
Alice  Walker,"  *'  Margaret  Kelly,"  and  on  sev- 
eral occasions  came  into  collision  with  the  police 
under  rather  sensational  conditions.  Finally  an 
attempt  at  suicide  by  drowning  in  the  Merrimac 
River,  and  her  rescue  in  a  semi-comatose  condi- 
tion, led  to  her  being  placed  in  a  hospital.  On 
her  person  were  found  several  memoranda,  in 
which  she  gave  a  fragmentary  account  of  her 
wanderings  under  the  various  names  she  had 
assumed. 

After  her  rescue  from  the  river,  she  remained 
in  a  stupor  for  a  week,  and  on  awakening  from 
this  state  it  was  found  that  the  memory  of  the 
events  of  her  whole  previous  hfe,  from  the  date 

Psychology,  August,  1906;  "The  Lowell  Case  of  Amnesia." — 
Journal  Abnormal  Ptychology,  August-September,  1907;  "The 
Mechanism  of  Amnesia." — Journal  Abnormal  Psychology,  1909. 


LOSSES  OF  MEMORY  251 

of  her  birth,  was  completely  obliterated.  A 
similar  condition  of  stupor,  followed  by  an  ex- 
tensive loss  of  memory,  has  been  reported  in 
other  cases.  For  instance,  in  the  Mary  Rey- 
nolds case,  there  was  a  profound  sleep  from 
which  the  patient  awoke  "  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  as  being  ushered  for  the  first  time  into 
the  world."  Likewise  in  the  case  of  Susan  N., 
the  educational  memories,  the  names  of  objects, 
persons,  scenes,  knowledge  of  events  were  gone. 
She  retained,  however,  the  knowledge  of  read- 
ing, writing,  sewing,  and  automatic  movements. 
The  extensive  amnesia  seemed,  therefore,  to  '— 
have  affected  chiefly  the  higher  psychic  mem- 
ories and  spared  the  lower  and  more  automatic 
acquisitions.  After  awakening  from  the  stupor 
she  learned  things  anew  with  an  astonishing 
rapidity,  thus  showing  that  the  mechanism  of 
associative  memory  was  not  actually  destroyed, 
but  merely  dissociated.  This  rapidity  of  ac- 
quiring knowledge  made  it  very  difficult  to 
distinguish  between  what  the  patient  actually 
remembered  and  what  she  had  learned  since 
awakening  from  the  stupor.  Everything  she 
read  or  saw  appeared  to  her  as  if  perceived  for 
the  first  time.  For  instance,  she  said,  "  When 
I  first  saw  trees  and  houses,  I  never  remembered 
having  seen  them  before."  It  was  necessary  to 
teach  her  the  names  and  uses  of  ordinary  ob- 


252       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

jects.  Literature  with  which  she  was  formerly 
perfectly  familiar  it  was  necessary  for  her  to 
relearn.  She  recognized  no  one,  not  even  her 
relatives.  She  gave  her  name  as  Margaret 
Kelly,  and  when  addressed  as  Susan  N.,  paid 
no  attention. 

Attempts  to  restore  the  memory  led  to  inter- 
esting data,  proving  that  the  entire  life  experi-^ 
ence  was  simply  dissociated  from  her  conscious 
perception  and  not  irrevocably  destroyed. 
Scrappy,  isolated  memories  would  suddenly 
flash  into  her  mind,  consisting  of  verses  of 
poetry,  strange  names,  visual  memories  of  per- 
sons, places,  etc.  These  were  not  recognized 
as  memories  and  were  not  localized  in  the  past, 
but  were  called  "  strange  thoughts,"  "  wonder- 
ments "  by  the  patient.  These  peculiar  phenom- 
ena proved  that  recognition  and  localization  are 
unnecessary  for  memory.  Her  dreams  consisted 
of  episodes  of  her  hfe  from  which  at  present 
she  was  totally  amnesic.  A  detailed  account  of 
this  dream  life  as  a  dissociated  state  has  already 
been  given  in  the  chapter  on  Dreams.  Patients 
afflicted  with  amnesia  will  frequently  dream  of 
the  experiences  which  they  cannot  spontaneously 
recall  in  their  waking  condition. 

A  few  details  will  make  some  of  these 
phenomena  clear.  When  the  attention  of  the 
patient  was  distracted  by  a  monotonous  sensory 


LOSSES  OF  MEMORY  253 

stimulus,  isolated  flashes  of  memory  resulted. 
These  I  called  experimental  distraction  mem- 
ories, and  they  consisted  principally  of  quota- 
tions from  popular  poets,  such  as  Longfellow 
and  Whittier.  As  all  knowledge  of  hterature 
was  absent  in  her  present  state  the  quotations 
must  have  been  of  the  nature  of  dissociated 
memories,  that  is,  of  experiences  stored  up,  in- 
capable of  conscious  reproduction,  although  syn- 
thesis was  possible  through  the  devices  used. 
Sometimes,  without  being  experimentally  in- 
duced, for  instance,  in  normal  abstraction  or 
during  reading  or  conversation,  the  same 
phenomena  would  take  place,  such  as  the  repro- 
duction of  isolated  names  or  "  vivid  memories  " 
of  towns  and  cities.  These  were  called  spon- 
taneous distraction  memories.  When  the  sub- 
conscious was  tapped  by  automatic  writing 
names  and  quotations  were  again  produced, 
but  these  also  were  strange  and  unfamiliar  to 
the  patient. 

Fortunately  I  was  present  at  the  visit  of  an 
old  and  intimate  friend  of  the  patient.  This 
furnished  an  excellent  opportunity  for  the  study 
of  her  reaction  to  former  acquaintances.  She 
was  unable  to  recognize  this  friend,  even  when 
her  name  was  mentioned  and  when  she  was 
brought  face  to  face  with  her.  She  reiterated 
**  I   don't  remember,"  in  answer  to  questions 


254       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

relative  to  prominent  incidents  of  her  childhood 
and  early  life.  She  asked  the  name  of  some 
nasturtiums  brought  by  her  visitor,  and  did 
not  recall  having  seen  similar  flowers  before. 
When  the  name  "bobbins"  was  used  in  the 
course  of  the  conversation,  she  naively  inquired, 
**  What  are  bobbins? "  although  she  had  once 
worked  in  a  mill. 

An  analysis  of  the  case  showed  that  we  were 
deahng  with  a  functional  amnesia,  in  which  the 
higher  psychic  memories,  such  as  the  knowledge 
of  objects,  places,  events,  and  literature  were 
compeltely  dissociated,  while  the  lower  and  more 
organic  acquisitions,  such  as  reading,  writing, 
speech,  co-ordinated  movements,  were  retained. 
In  this  respect  the  case  is  unique  of  its  kind 
from  the  standpoint  of  general  amnesia.  The 
experimental  evidence,  in  this  case  of  Susan  N., 
proved  that  we  were  dealing  with  mere  isolated, 
disconnected  fragments  of  a  wide  system  of 
experience  and  knowledge  which,  in  her  present 
condition,  were  entirely  dissociated  from  the 
conscious  mental  hfe,  i.e.,  incapable  of  voluntary 
reproduction. 

If  certain  memories  are  dissociated,  it  is  often 
possible  to  restore  them  through  some  artificial 
method.  The  restoration  of  lost  memories  in 
amnesia  and  the  sudden  recollection  of  a  forgot- 
ten name  have  the  same  mechanism  in  common. 


LOSSES  OF  MEMORY  255 

For  instance  I  attempt  to  recall  a  name,  but  try 
as  hard  as  I  will,  I  cannot  recollect  it.  I  give 
up  the  conscious  attempt  and  later,  while  en- 
gaged in  conversation  or  reading,  the  name 
flashes  into  my  mind.  What  has  happened? 
The  name  was  there  all  the  time,  otherwise  I 
could  not  have  recalled  it  later.  This  is  one  of 
the  simplest  examples  of  dissociation  of  con- 
sciousness, or  more  strictly  speaking,  in  this 
case  a  dissociation  of  memory.  When  the  at- 
tention was  distracted  by  conversation  or  read- 
ing, concentrated  upon  one  point,  the  name 
flashed  into  my  mind.  The  conscious  inhibition 
•of  the  name  had  been  removed  while  I  was  in 
this  state  of  abstraction  and  the  subconscious 
memory  of  the  name  flashed  into  conscious- 
ness. In  psychological  terms  it  has  become 
synthetized,  whereas  previously  it  was  disso- 
ciated. This  is  the  mechanism  of  the  restora- 
tion of  lost  experiences  in  amnesia  reduced 
to  its  simplest  terms.  It  has  been  shown  that 
this  synthesis  is  possible  only  where  there  is 
a  dissociation,  not  where  the  experiences  are 
destroyed.  In  absent-minded  acts  where  there 
is  often  a  dissociation  of  memory  for  the  act, 
the  memory  may  also  be  restored.  These  disso- 
ciations of  memory,  which  clinically  are  some 
type  of  amnesia,  occur  in  hysteria,  acute  alcohol- 
ism, sometimes  after  blows  to  the  head,  and 


256       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

occasionally  in  those  episodes  of  wandering  for 
which  there  is  no  later  conscious  recollection, 
known  as  fugues.  The  practical  results  of  the 
synthesis  of  these  particular  amnesic  states  is 
one  of  the  triumphs  of  the  theoretical  part  of 
abnormal  psychology,  particularly  of  modern 
investigations  into  subconscious  or  dissociated 
mental  experiences.  The  results  are  best  ac- 
comphshed  by  having  the  patient  hsten  to  a 
monotonous  sound  stimulus  in  a  quiet,  semi- 
darkened  room  and  while  he  is  in  a  condition  of 
perfect  relaxation.  After  one  or  several  trials 
it  will  be  found  that  isolated  experiences  flash 
suddenly  into  consciousness,  and  by  continued 
stimulation  these  groups  become  finally  fused 
into  their  chronological  order.  My  first  ex- 
periments along  these  lines  were  performed 
upon  alcoholics  who  had  suffered  from  amnesic 
states  as  the  result  of  long-continued  alcoholic 
indulgence.  In  the  cases  which  I  observed  it 
was  possible  to  restore  in  its  entirety  the  com- 
plete amnesic  period.  Further  researches  along 
these  lines  proved  the  soundness  of  the  applica- 
tion of  this  theory  and  it  was  also  shown  that 
what  was  true  of  alcoholic  amnesia  was  true 
of  other  types  of  amnesia.  As  a  result  of  these 
studies,  I  found  that  it  was  possible  to  divide 
the  amnesias  into  three  distinct  groups: 
1.  Amnesic  states  in  which  the  dissociation 


LOSSES  OF  MEMORY  257 

was  of  such  a  nature  that  a  complete  experi- 
mental synthesis  of  the  lost  experiences  was 
possible.  This  group  comprises  short  hysterical, 
epileptic,  and  alcohoHc  amnesias,  protracted 
fugues  (wandering  states),  and  certain  types 
of  amnesia  following  cerebral  embolism. 

2.  Retrograde  amnesia,  following  blows  to 
the  head,  in  which  the  whole  or  a  portion  of 
the  amnesic  period  spontaneously  cleared  up. 

8.  Amnesic  states  in  which  the  memories  were 
so  completely  destroyed  or  dissociated  that 
neither  spontaneous  restoration  occurred  nor 
experimental  synthesis  was  possible.  In  this 
group  may  be  placed  protracted  epileptic  am- 
nesias and  the  retrograde  amnesias  of  cerebral 
concussion  not  comprised  under  group  2. 

The  amnesia  after  deep  hypnosis,  like  the 
losses  of  memory  in  the  states  of  dissociation, 
is  not  a  real  amnesia  at  all,  but  only  apparent. 
The  events  of  the  hypnotic  state  may  be  re- 
stored by  various  psychological  devices,  such  as 
crystal  gazing  and  automatic  writing;  or,  the 
patient  will  recall  the  events  of  the  hypnosis  in 
subsequent  hypnotic  states.  Hysterical  losses  of 
sensation  and  paralysis  are  really  localized  am- 
nesias, a  **  forgetting  "  of  the  sensation  or  move- 
ments of  a  certain  limb. 

We  learn  from  these  observations,  that  a  loss 
of  memory  is  not  synonymous  with  unconscious- 


258       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

ness.  A  person  may  perform  many  natural  but 
complicated  acts  extending  over  hours,  days,  or 
weeks  and  yet  have  later  no  memory  for  these 
facts.  The  period  is  a  blank  in  the  mind.  Dur- 
ing this  period,  the  subject  is  not  in  an  uncon- 
scious state,  but  rather  in  a  subconscious  state. 
For  instance,  cases  have  been  reported  where  a 
subject  has  left  home  and  no  trace  could  be 
found  of  him.  Later,  he  suddenly  comes  to 
himself,  in  a  strange  location  and  engaged  in  a 
strange  occupation.  All  memory  of  the  period 
since  leaving  home  has  vanished.  During  the 
period,  to  all  outward  appearances,  he  was  in  a 
normal  condition.  Yet  the  memory  is  not  really 
destroyed,  but  it  may  be  restored  by  appropriate 
methods.  Examples  of  a  loss  of  memory  ex- 
tending over  several  days,  in  one  case  with  the 
apparent  birth  of  a  new  personality,  will  be 
discussed  in  the  next  chapter.  In  both  in- 
stances, it  was  possible  to  permanently  restore 
these  lost  memories  through  a  special  device. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  RESTORATION  OF  LOST  MEMORIES 

This  chapter  will  be  devoted  to  the  study 
of  two  cases  of  amnesia  in  which  the  lost  mem- 
ories were  successfully  restored.  The  first  case 
comprised  the  events  of  a  delirium,  while  in  the 
second  case  there  was  a  change  of  personality, 
during  the  amnesic  period.  In  the  first  instance 
it  was  possible  to  restore  practically  every  epi- 
sode of  the  lost  period,  although  the  amnesia 
had  existed  for  two  years  before  the  experiments 
were  attempted.  During  all  this  time,  the  pa- 
tient, try  as  she  would,  could  not  recall  a  vestige 
of  this  lost  period  of  four  days.  In  the  restored 
period,  there  was  also  obtained  a  most  valuable 
account  of  the  patient's  mental  state  during  this 
four  days'  dehrium.  At  first  only  a  few  isolated 
fragments  were  obtained,  then  larger  and  larger 
groups  without  reference  to  their  chronological 
order  became  firmly  synthetized,  until  finally 
the  gaps  became  filled  and  there  resulted  a  firm 
and  permanent  restoration  of  the  four  days' 
period.     Where  before  there  was  a  gap  in  the 


260       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

patient's  life,   this  gap   became   filled  through 
these  restored  memories/ 

Mrs.  X.  left  B.  by  train,  on  a  journey  to 
the  city  of  N.  After  travelling  about  an  hour 
she  experienced  a  sensation  of  a  sudden  snap  in 
the  head,  after  which  it  seemed  to  her  as  if  the 
train  began  to  sway  from  side  to  side  and  the 
passengers  began  to  change  to  people  with  whom 
she  had  been  previously  acquainted.  After  this 
she  remembered  nothing  more  for  a  period  of 
nearly  jive  hours.  Her  next  recollection  was  a 
very  hazy  memory  of  finding  herself  sitting  on  a 
trunk  in  the  railroad  station  (the  end  of  her 
destination),  then  another  hazy  memory  of  a 
ride  in  an  ambulance,  and  finally  an  entire  blank 
of  four  days,  when  she  found  herself  in  the  ward 
of  a  hospital.  Up  to  the  time  that  the  patient 
came  under  observation,  a  period  of  nearly  two 
years,  she  had  never  been  able  to  recall  the 
events  of  those  amnesic  periods.  An  attempt 
was  therefore  made  to  restore  these  lost  mem- 
ories, on  the  supposition  that  the  entire  experi- 
ence was  merely  dissociated  and  not  destroyed. 
The  attempt  was  eminently  successful,  as  the 
following  data  will  show.    The  memory  was  not 

*The  fragments  are  given  verbatim  as  they  v?ere  synthetized, 
so  that  the  reader  may  have  a  clear  idea  of  the  mechanism  of 
the  synthesis.  The  numbers  refer  to  each  individual  fragment, 
as  it  entered  consciousness,  in  the  order  in  which  they  were 
restored,  without  regard  to  chronological  sequence. 


RESTORATION  OF  LOST  MEMORIES         26I 

only  restored  but  with  it  also  came  an  account 
of  the  mental  state  during  the  delirium. 
The  result  of  the  experiments  follows: 

1.  *'I  remember  a  picture  across  the  wall  from  my 
room  in  B.,  a  picture  of  an  animal,  a  horrible,  uncouth 
animal  like  a  rhinoceros,  with  bones  or  stones  in  front 
of  it." 

2.  "  A  music  box  that  they  played  in  this  room — 
between  my  room  and  the  door  of  the  main  hall." 

3.  "  The  queer  things  the  train  did.  I  thought  it 
was  the  Asylum  and  before  they  took  me  out,  the  train 
crashed  down  a  precipice,  or  seemed  to,  just  like  a 
train  wreck.     I  saw  the  name  on  the  station." 

After  this  the  memory  of  her  own  state  of  mind  which 
while  in  the  train  spontaneously  returned,  "  The 
state  of  mind  was  unlike  anything  I  had  before  this 
delusion,  I  was  always  I.  My  personality,  my  identity, 
did  not  change." 

4.  "The  first  seat  in  the  car.  At  first  I  had  one 
in  the  back  and  it  seemed  later  that  I  had  a  seat  on  the 
right  hand  side  of  the  car  looking  out  of  the  window. 
I  don't  remember  changing  my  seat.  The  people  were 
talking  near  me  and  it  seemed  that  what  they  said  in 
some  terrible  way  had  reference  to  me.  I  didn't  hear 
it,  but  I  thought  it.  I  thought  I  mustn't  speak — I 
knew  it.  I  hadn't  lost  my  identity,  I  could  always 
have  told  my  name.  Yet  I  didn't  know  where  I  was 
going  or  why  I  was  in  that  car." 

5.  It  was  on  that  side  that  I  thought  I  saw  people 
I  knew,  and  in  particular  a  friend  who  had  died.     That 


262       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

was  one  of  the  things  that  made  me  sure  I  was  insane, 
because  I  remembered  that  he  had  died. 

6.  "  Now  I  remember  the  conductor.  He  came,  but 
I  couldn't  give  him  my  ticket.  I  couldn't  use  my  hands 
at  all.  /  couldnH  think  how  to.  He  took  the  ticket 
out  of  my  lap  and  went  away.  I  had  a  horrible  fear, 
but  I  thought  to  myself  I  would  keep  still  and  I  think 
I  did.  I  don't  believe  I  made  any  outcry  or  disturb- 
ance on  that  car.  I  had  a  dress-suit  case  with  me, 
two  magazines,  a  handbag,  and  a  box  of  candy.  As 
I  grew  worse,  I  dropped  all  care  of  these  things.  I  sat 
there  while  the  train  whirled  on.  Part  of  the  time  it  was 
dark,  but  it  was  very  early — I  think  it  was  before 
6  o'clock." 

7.  "All  the  memories  seem  to  be  of  sitting  on  the 
right  hand  side  of  the  car  with  just  that  horrible  fear 
— fear  of  everything — that  some  terrible  thing  had 
happened  to  my  daughter." 

8.  **I  came  to  myself  on  the  train  and  gave  my 
husband's  name  and  address.  I  felt  that  I  had  com- 
mitted some  horrible  crime  and  the  name  and  address 
proved  it.  I  felt  as  if  it  was  some  one  else  I  was  talk- 
ing about.  My  memories  are  quite  clear  about  lying 
on  a  trunk.  I  was  violent,  screamed,  struggled,  not 
to  be  held.  There  was  police  officers  around.  I 
thought  they  were  there  because  of  the  terrible  thing 
I  had  done. — I  thought  that  I  had  killed  my  daughter. 
I  felt  something  clutch  my  dress  and  I  turned  around 
and  thought  I  saw  a  large  stuffed  cat.  I  screamed 
and  was  afraid  and  a  woman  tried  to  soothe  me  and 
tried  to  give  me  some  medicine." 

9.  **  I  can  see  now  the  people  getting  off  the  car,  but 


EESTORATION  OF  LOST  MEMORIES         268 

I  didn't  move  at  all.  I  think  some  one  came  and  told 
me  to  get  off.  All  this  time  I  thought  someone  was 
with  me  to  take  care  of  me — and  so  I  did  just  as  I  was 
told.  Then  I  walked  along  with  my  suit  case  and  men 
came  running  up  to  me — I  think  they  were  hackmen — 
but  I  thought  then  that  they  were  just  interested  in  me 
and  thought  they  kept  saying  *  C.  C — the  place  where 
I  lived,  a  suburb  of  Y." 

10.  "  I  didn't  even  think  then  where  I  was  going  or 
what  I  was  going  to  do.  I  couldn't  have  told  my  name 
then." 

11.  "I  was  at  B.  Hospital  from  Tuesday  until  Fri- 
day, but  it  seemed  like  one  day  to  me.  It  is  hard  to 
distinguish  old  memories  and  new  ones.  I  remember 
being  questioned  by  physicians  there  and  asked  my 
name  and  address,  which  I  gave  correctly.  Then  I  was 
questioned  a  good  while  about  my  physical  condition, 
but  I  can't  remember  just  what.  I  think  I  tried  to 
make  myself  out  insane  and  I  remember  being  un- 
dressed by  several  nurses  and  put  into  a  bathtub.  The 
nurses  all  seemed  to  be  people  I  knew — I  called  them 
by  familiar  names  and  their  voices  seemed  to  be 
familiar.  I  was  violent  and  it  took  three  or  four 
nurses  to  get  me  to  bed.  That  was  in  a  room  to  the 
right  as  the  hall  is  entered.  The  room  seemed  to  have 
windows  like  a  church — stained  glass  with  rounding 
tops  and  in  the  door  was  a  place  that  could  be  opened 
for  some  one  to  look  in.  I  was  terrified  in  that  room 
all  the  time.  There  was  a  vacant  bed  across  and  a 
sound  of  breathing  always  came  from  it,  as  if  some  one 
were  in  it.  It  was  a  perfectly  smooth  white  bed,  unoc- 
cupied, and  that  terrified  me  more.    I  heard  voices  most 


264       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

of  the  time — voices  I  recognized — my  father's  and  my 
sister's  voice.  Part  of  the  time  the  door  of  my  room 
was  open  and  when  the  nurses  passed  I  called  them  by 
familiar  names,  although  all  the  time  I  recognized  that 
they  were  nurses  by  their  caps.  In  that  room  was  the 
picture  I  spoke  of — opposite  the  door,  and  the  picture 
kept  changing." 

12.  "  I  can't  remember  being  taken  from  that  room 
to  the  one  across  the  hall,  but  I  remember  being  in  that 
room  across  the  hall.  I  remember  medicine  being  given 
to  me  in  that  room;  I  drank  it  out  of  a  glass,  I  also 
remember  drinking  milk  that  was  brought  to  me  there. 
I  thought  there  was  some  terrible  thing  that  I  had  done 
and  couldn't  remember  what  it  was.  There  was  still 
another  room  on  that  same  side  and  I  remember  being 
dressed  and  sitting  out  in  the  middle  part — the  hall — 
where  the  pictures  were  and  an  organ  or  music  box 
against  the  wall.  I  still  thought  the  patients  were 
people  whom  I  knew.  But  gradually  that  wore  off  and 
they  began  to  look  just  like  themselves.  I  remember  a 
physical  examination  there  by  a  doctor,  a  young  man, 
whose  hair  was  brown,  the  eyes  grayish  blue,  and  the 
whites  of  the  eyes  very  yellow.  He  thumped  my  chest 
and  listened  to  my  breathing  and  after  that  he  gave 
me  different  things  to  smell  and  taste.  After  I  was 
dressed  they  took  me  into  the  anteroom  and  I  saw 
my  husband  and  daughter  there.  I  looked  at  the  clock 
— it  was  9.15  A.  M.  Then  when  they  took  me  back  I 
was  better,  I  didn't  think  any  more  of  the  horrible 
things  I  had  done  to  my  daughter,  because  after  I  had 
seen  her  I  knew  that  she  was  all  right,  but  I  began  to 
think  then   that  other  people  were  harming  her.     I 


RESTORATION  OF  LOST  MEMORIES         265 

remember  being  taken  out  to  my  husband  and  daughter 
again  and  I  said,  after  looking  at  the  clock,  *It  was 
9.15  when  you  were  here  before  ' — it  was  then  5  o'clock. 
It  wasn't  the  same  day,  although  it  seemed  like  it  to 
me.  It  seems  to  me  as  though  they  took  me  to  the  M. 
Hospital  after  they  left  me  the  last  time." 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  memory  was  restored 
in  isolated  fragments  without  any  reference  to 
their  order  of  occm*rence.  By  continued  tap- 
ping or  stimulation  of  the  subconscious  mental 
life,  larger  and  larger  groups  of  memories  en- 
tered consciousness.  Finally  the  entire  gap  of 
the  four  days'  loss  of  memory  became  bridged. 
The  restored  memories  have  remained  perma- 
nent and  there  is  no  longer  a  blank  period  in 
the  patient's  mind.  In  this  case  the  patient  was 
in  an  abnormal  mental  state  during  the  four 
days  and  she  was  unable  later  to  recall  volun- 
tarily the  events  of  this  period.  Hence  the  am- 
nesia arose,  an  amnesia  of  dissociation  and  not 
of  destruction,  otherwise  the  lost  memories  could 
not  have  been  restored. 

In  the  second  case,  up  to  the  time  of  his 
amnesia,  the  patient  was  always  a  healthy  man 
and  of  strictly  temperate  habits.  During  a 
slight  illness  he  remained  in  bed  one  day,  but 
did  not  remember  getting  up  or  dressing.  He 
had  a  faint  recollection,  however,  that  about 
10  A.M.  he  was  told  by  his  mother  that  she  was 


266       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

going  out  for  a  while  and  that  if  he  felt  hungry 
he  would  find  some  breakfast  on  the  back  of 
the  kitchen  stove.  The  patient  remembered 
nothing  more  until  he  found  himself  in  a  hos- 
pital in  N.  three  days  later,  and  although 
he  was  well  known  in  his  own  neighborhood, 
no  one  saw  him  leave  his  house  on  the  par- 
ticular morning  he  disappeared.  When  he  came 
to  himself  in  the  hospital  he  did  not  know 
where  he  was,  but  he  later  learned  the  name  of 
the  hospital.  He  did  not  know  whether  he 
came  to  himself  suddenly,  or  out  of  a  normal 
sleep,  but  in  the  course  of  an  hour  or  two  he 
realized  his  condition.  He  left  B.  on  Thurs- 
day, was  admitted  to  the  hospital  on  Sunday. 
Thus  there  was  an  absolute  amnesic  period  of 
three  days.  According  to  the  hospital  report 
he  seemed  nervous  and  depressed  on  admission, 
and  gave  his  name,  age,  occupation,  and  address 
incorrectly.  Here  we  have  an  example  of  the 
birth  of  an  apparently  new  personality. 

I  first  saw  the  patient  three  weeks  after 
his  return  home.  During  this  time  not  even 
the  slightest  detail  of  the  amnesic  period  had 
spontaneously  returned.  He  would  frequently 
lie  awake  at  night  in  an  attempt  to  recall 
these  lost  experiences,  but  without  success; 
neither  had  there  been  any  dreams  relating  to 
these. 


RESTORATION  OF  LOST  MEMORIES         267 

Thus  we  see  that  we  are  dealing  with  a  loss 
of  memory  and  a  change  in  personality  in  which 
many  compUcated  but  natural  acts  were  per- 
formed, the  whole  period  being  dissociated  from 
consciousness,  thus  producing  a  complete  am- 
nesia. It  was  only  when  psychological  methods 
were  used,  that  the  lost  memories  could  be  re- 
stored. An  account  of  these  restored  memories 
follows  as  given  in  the  patient's  own  words: 

"  It  seems  as  though  I  could  realize  the  conductor  or 
brakeman  with  the  lantern  on  his  arm  going  around 
for  tickets,  and  then  it  is  as  though  there  was  a  depot 
and  a  crowd.  It  seemed  to  me  as  if  I  walked  and  kept 
on  walking,  not  knowing  where. 

**  I  got  mixed  up  with  a  cabman,  he  was  quite  a  short 
man  compared  with  me.  I  walked  a  long  distance  be- 
fore I  got  a  cab.  Then  I  seemed  to  be  riding  with  the 
cabman  and  we  went  over  a  bridge.  I  can't  seem  to 
remember  getting  rid  of  that  cabman.  It  seems  as 
though  I  was  walking  when  it  was  coming  on  dark.  I 
fully  realized  it  was  getting  dark.  I  remember  going 
to  some  place  and  eating.  I  think  I  ate  steak  and  I 
think  there  were  hot  biscuits  there  and  I  had  a  glass  of 
milk.  I  remembered  giving  the  waitress  a  bill,  and  I 
remember  buying  a  cigar  there  directly  after  I  paid  the 
bill.  It  seems  as  though  I  went  out  on  the  street  and 
bought  a  newspaper — I  don't  know  the  name  of  it,  and 
I  put  it  in  my  pocket.  I  can  recollect  being  in  a  theatre 
— there  were  different  varieties,  and  I  can  recall  one  or 
two  acts.     I  recollect  two  fellows  coming  out  in  a 


268       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

Grerman  dialect  and  the  second  one  was  a  fellow  and 
girl  in  a  trapeze  act.  I  can  remember  looking  at  the 
paper  while  I  was  in  the  theatre.  I  can't  recall  what 
I  read,  but  there  was  something  startling  in  it  about 
a  train  wreck.  I  remember  coming  out  of  the  theatre 
with  the  crowd  and  I  went  into  a  barber  shop  with  a 
tobacco  store  connected  and  bought  some  more  cigars 
and  made  inquiries  about  a  room.  I  didn't  receive  any 
definite  reply  from  them.  It  seems  as  though  they 
told  me  to  go  farther  down,  quite  a  distance,  and  one 
of  the  fellows  came  to  the  door  and  pointed  in  the  direc- 
tion. I  can  remember  a  woman  leading  me  to  a  room. 
I  could  hardly  understand  her  talk;  she  was  an  oldish 
woman.  I  remember  going  into  another  lunchroom 
after  I  left  the  cigar  store.  A  crowd  in  an  automobile 
came  into  the  restaurant  directly  after  me.  It  was  in 
that  restaurant  that  I  was  told  where  I  could  get  a 
room.  They  all  had  a  foreign  accent  as  though  they 
were  Germans.  The  man  in  the  restaurant  pointed 
out  the  hotel  to  me.  It  was  at  the  comer  of  the  street. 
It  was  a  kind  of  boarding  house.  I  remember  the  old 
woman  showing  me  the  bathroom  and  asking  me 
several  questions — if  I  wished  to  be  called  at  any  cer- 
tain time,  etc.  She  explained  to  me  the  rules  of  the 
house  and  showed  me  how  to  turn  on  the  electric  light 
in  the  hallway.  I  have  just  a  faint  recollection  of 
retiring,  but  I  remember  raising  the  window  before  I 
lay  down  to  sleep.  I  tossed  in  bed  nearly  all  night, 
and  did  not  fall  asleep  until  daybreak.  I  can  recall 
the  sweeping  in  the  next  room  and  the  woman  must 
have  heard  me,  because  she  came  to  the  door  and  asked 
if  I  were  up  and  how  I  felt.     It  struck  me  that  she 


RESTORATION  OF  LOST  MEMORIES         269 

must  have  noticed  that  I  did  not  look  well.  I  dressed 
myself,  but  felt  weak  and  sick.  I  then  called  her  and 
she  came  into  the  room.  I  asked  if  I  appeared  sick, 
and  she  replied  '  yes,'  and  then  I  asked  for  nourish- 
ment, something  to  eat.  She  said  that  as  soon  as  she 
was  through  with  her  work  she  would  bring  me  some- 
thing. She  advised  me  to  return  to  bed  and  she  would 
attend  to  my  wants.  I  can  remember  her  coming  in 
with  some  broth  in  a  bowl,  and  she  also  brought  some 
eggs  in  a  glass.  I  can  remember  drinking  a  cup  of 
tea.  I  remember  then,  although  I  felt  weak,  that  I 
thought  the  fresh  air  would  do  me  more  good  and  I 
dressed.  I  changed  my  mind  and  undressed  again  and 
finally  again  I  made  up  my  mind  Vd  go  out.  I  re- 
member going  out — I  remember  making  a  study  of  the 
place.  I  don't  remember  the  number,  but  I  know  it 
was  at  the  corner  of  two  streets.  I  made  a  note  of  the 
name  of  the  street  on  a  small  card,  but  I  can't  recall  it 
now.  There  was  a  big  tailoring  establishment  on  the 
comer,  and  the  house  had  a  sort  of  a  brownstone  front. 
You  had  to  go  up  a  dozen  or  more  steps  to  the  door. 
I  can  recollect  walking  a  long  distance  and  was  so 
tired  that  I  felt  inclined  to  eat.  I  remember  going 
into  a  restaurant,  but  when  I  sat  down  I  took  only  a 
light  stew.  I  believe  it  was  one  of  the  courses  served, 
but  I  felt  sick  and  didn't  eat  any  more.  When  I  left 
the  restaurant  I  felt  tired,  so  I  boarded  a  car  and  rode 
quite  a  long  distance.  I  remember  getting  out  and 
going  into  a  barbar  shop. 

"  I  can  recall  getting  into  a  car  that  night  after  I 
left  the  barber  shop  and  getting  off  at  a  theatre.  I 
got  into  line  with  a  number  of  people  and  waited  a  long 


270       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

while.  I  can  recollect  buying  two  tickets  for  a  fellow 
that  was  ahead  of  me,  as  he  didn't  think  they'd  sell  him 
all  the  tickets  he  wished.  He  said  he  had  friends  and 
later  he  and  his  friends  sat  aside  of  me.  I  went  into 
the  theatre  and  I  can  recall  some  acts.  There  was 
a  fight  with  cow-boys  and  Indians  on  an  extra  large 
stage  and  later  a  scene  in  which  persons  would  dive 
into  the  water  and  disappear.  I  can  recall  a  girl  get- 
ting into  a  boat  that  already  had  several  men  in  it, 
and  the  boat  sank  out  of  sight  under  the  water.  I 
went  out  before  the  show  was  over  and  asked  an  officer 
in  the  balcony  of  the  theatre  the  best  way  to  get  to 
the  address  I  had  on  the  card.  He  told  me  to  go  to 
the  corner  and  I'd  ^nd  an  officer  there.  I  didn't  find 
the  officer,  and  so  walked  quite  a  distance  until  finally 
I  did  meet  one  and  he  directed  me  down  some  streets. 
He  told  me  I  could  get  a  car  which  would  bring  me  in 
that  direction,  but  that  I  would  have  to  transfer.  I 
can  remember  the  conductor  stopping  the  car  and  giv- 
ing me  a  check.  I  only  waited  a  minute  when  the  car 
came  along  and  it  brought  me  to  the  door  of  the  house. 
I  started  to  go  in  but  changed  my  mind  and  went  into 
a  restaurant.  I  remember  having  an  oyster  stew  and 
they  gave  me  some  large  crackers,  such  as  I  had  never 
seen  before.  From  there  I  went  back  to  my  room  and 
opened  the  window.  It  was  raining  hard.  There  was 
some  talk  in  the  room  next  to  me,  it  sounded  like  the 
voices  of  two  or  three  men.  I  remember  undressing 
and  lying  down,  but  I  did  not  sleep.  I  would  get  up 
and  take  a  paper  and  read  and  return  to  bed  again. 
In  that  way  I  passed  the  night.  In  the  morning  I 
can  remember  the  woman  rapping  at  the  door  and  giv- 


RESTORATION  OF  LOST  MEMORIES         271 

rag  me  a  towel.  She  asked  me  how  I  felt  and  I  told 
her  that  I  didn't  feel  well.  She  said  there  was  a  doctor 
a  short  distance  down  the  street  and  that  she  would 
either  send  for  him  or  I  could  go  there  myself.  I 
didn't  go  to  the  doctor,  but  it  seems  to  me  as  though 
she  mentioned  a  hospital  and  I  left  the  house  with  one 
of  the  boarders.  I  think  he  went  to  the  hospital  with 
me,  although  they  say  there  that  I  entered  alone. 
This  was  about  midday.  I  felt  weaker  and  weaker, 
started  to  ask  some  questions,  but  they  advised  me  to 
keep  quiet  and  not  to  worry.  They  placed  me  to  bed 
in  a  room  and  darkened  the  room.  I  think  I  saw  the 
doctor  and  he  examined  me.  I  slept  well  that  night 
and  the  following  morning  he  came  in  and  asked  me 
how  I  felt.  He  then  said  that  I  needed  rest  for  a  few 
days  or  a  week,  and  again  advised  me  to  keep  quiet  and 
not  to  worry.  They  brought  breakfast  to  me,  but  every 
opportunity  I  had  I  would  ask  some  questions.  I  re- 
mained in  that  room  until  I  came  to  my  senses.  Sleep 
brought  me  to  my  senses  and  it  struck  me  that  I  was 
in  a  strange  place.  Then  my  first  object  was  to  re- 
turn home." 

Attempts  to  obtain  the  patient's  personal  con- 
ception of  himself  during  this  amnesic  fugue 
and  also  the  reason  for  giving  an  incorrect  name 
on  entering  the  hospital  were  unsuccessful. 
Some  portions  of  the  revived  memories  were 
dream-like,  others  appeared  like  natural  recol- 
lections. 


CHAPTER  III 

ILLUSIONS   OF   MEMOEY 

The  memory  may  play  us  other  tricks  be- 
sides mere  forgetting.    It  may  make  us  believe, 
in  spite  of  ourselves,  that  we  had  previously 
lived  through  an  experience  which  we  are  cer- 
tain occurred  for  the  first  time.     In  a  previous 
chapter  we  saw  that  normal  memory  consists 
of  several  elements.     These  essential  elements 
were  conservation   (storing  up)   and  reproduc- 
tion; the  non-essential  elements  were  recogni- 
tion and  localization  in  the  past.    Memory  may 
be  present  without  the  non-essential  elements, 
but  without  the  essential  elements  it  ceases  to 
exist.     In  certain  pathological  disturbances  of 
memory  we  particularly  saw  that  neither  recog- 
nition nor  localization  in  the  past  was  a  neces- 
sary concomitant  in  the  act   of   memory,   for 
isolated  memories  could  suddenly  flash  into  con- 
sciousness without  either  localization  or  a  recog- 
nition of  the  memories  as  a  portion  of  a  per- 
sonal experience.    When  either  conservation  or 
reproduction  was  at  fault,  however,  we  could 
have    the    various    clinical    types    of    amnesia. 

272 


ILLUSIONS  OF  MEMORY  273 

When  localization  in  the  past  and  recognition 
are  at  fault,  present  happenings  are  sometimes 
mistaken  for  previous  experiences,  the  memory 
becomes  distorted  and  plays  us  tricks.  We 
refer  to  this  trick  as  an  illusion  of  memory,  a 
false  memory,  or  technically  as  paranmesia. 
As  amnesia  is  due  to  some  disturbance  of  stor- 
ing up  or  reproduction,  so  paramnesia  is  a 
fault  of  recognition  and  localization. 

We  may  be  in  doubt  if  we  have  seen  a  certain 
landscape  or  experienced  a  certain  situation  or 
sensation  before,  and  yet  all  the  time  we  may  feel 
certain  that  the  experience  is  new  and  could  not 
under  any  circumstance  have  previously  hap- 
pened. This  sense  of  what  is  called  familiarity 
may  reach  a  point  when  even  absolutely  new 
experiences  seem  familiar  and  old.  The  sense 
of  time  may  also  become  disturbed,  so  that 
new  experiences  may  be  locaUzed  in  the  remote 
past.  The  French  writers  have  called  this  dis- 
turbance of  memory  the  '*  deja  vu "  or  the 
"  already  seen."  In  contrast  with  this  feeling 
of  the  "  already  seen  "  there  may  be  a  sense  of 
strangeness,  of  newness,  in  familiar  places,  a 
kind  of  a  feeling  of  the  "  never  seen."  These 
illusions  of  memory  are  found  not  only  in  cer- 
tain abnormal  mental  states,  but  also  in  every- 
day life,  and  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  have 
caught  the  fancy  of  writers  and  so  have  per- 


274       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

vaded  the  literature.  The  late  Lafcadio  Hearn 
has  also  given  us  a  most  vivid  account  of  the 
illusions  of  his  memory.  He  says,  "  To  the 
same  psychological  category  possibly  belongs 
likewise  a  peculiar  feeling  which  troubled  men's 
minds  long  before  the  time  of  Cicero  and  trou- 
bles them  even  more  betimes  in  our  own  genera- 
tion,— the  feehng  of  having  already  seen  a  place 
really  visited  for  the  first  time.  Some  strange 
air  of  familiarity  about  the  streets  of  a  foreign 
town  or  the  forms  of  a  foreign  landscape  comes 
to  the  mind  with  a  sort  of  a  soft,  weird  shock 
and  leaves  one  vainly  ransacking  memory  for 
interpretations." 

The  exact  reason  for  these  strange  tricks  of 
memory  is  very  difficult  to  determine.  These 
illusions  of  memory  may  recur  as  a  transitory 
phenomenon  in  everyday  hfe  and  are  some- 
times associated  with  a  temporary  feeling  of 
depersonalization.  They  may  also  be  present  as 
a  prominent  symptom  in  some  form  of  alcoholic 
insanity,  epilepsy,  the  insanity  of  old  age  (senile 
dementia),  in  some  paranoiac  states,  and  occa- 
sionally in  hysteria.  In  their  occurrence  in  both 
normal  and  abnormal  mental  states,  they  show 
a  striking  resemblance  to  some  subconscious 
phenomena.  Both  may  be  temporary  disin- 
tegrations of  the  personal  self  occurring  in 
everyday    hfe    and    both    may    become    more 


ILLUSIONS  OF  MEMORY  275 

complex  and  thus  become  pathological  mental 
phenomena. 

What,  then,  is  the  cause  of  these  strange  illu- 
sions of  memory?  Many  theories  have  been 
proposed,  but  none  seems  to  explain  the  exact 
mechanism/  The  whole  subject  is  a  rather 
confusing  one,  but  probably  the  most  satis- 
factory explanation  is  that  the  illusions  are 
probably  due  to  the  fact  that  a  transitory  first 
impression  of  a  scene  or  situation  becomes  imme- 
diately and  partially  dissociated  from  the  per- 
sonal consciousness.  There  follows  a  rapid  re- 
covery from  this  dissociated  state  and  on  again 
perceiving  the  object  or  scene,  a  sense  of  recog- 
nition and  famiHarity  arises.  This  sense  of 
familiarity  may  present  all  grades,  from  ex- 
treme vagueness  to  startling  distinctness.  Syn- 
thesis seems  to  be  absent  and  it  is  this  lack  of 
synthesis  which  causes  the  illusion  of  the  "  al- 
ready seefl.  For  instance,  in  looking  over  a 
newspaper,  we  may  give  a  hasty  but  forgotten 
glance  at  an  account  of  a  current  event.  But 
is  it  really  forgotten?  The  impression  pro- 
duced may  become  immediately  dissociated,  pass 
out  of  consciousness,  only  apparently  forgotten 
like  the  functional  amnesias.    But  if  we  should 

*  For  an  account  of  the  various  theories  of  paramnesia  the 
reader  is  referred  to  my  paper  on  "  Some  Recent  Literature  on 
Paramnesia." — American  Journal  of  Ptychology,  October,   1905. 


276       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

happen  to  return  again  to  the  same  account  with 
a  more  complete  measure  of  attention  a  syn- 
thesis will  be  formed.  In  the  more  attentive 
re-reading  of  the  passage  it  will  seem  as  if  we 
had  read  of  the  same  event  before,  but  how  or 
when  we  cannot  tell. 

These  illusions  of  memory  have  been  studied 
by  various  observers.  In  one  case  the  phenome- 
non, as  in  all  reported  cases,  was  immediate  and 
instantaneous,  before  the  patient  had  time  to 
examine  the  persons  or  objects  in  detail.  Here 
the  illusion  followed  an  epileptic  delirium.  To 
anyone  who  approached  the  patient  for  the  first 
time,  the  patient  said,  "I  know  you.  I  have 
already  seen  you  here.  I  was  here  in  the  same 
bed  and  same  ward.  I  am  not  able  to  say  when 
this  was,  but  I  am  certain  I  was  here  before. 
You  have  spoken  to  me  the  same  as  you  do 
to-day."  When  taken  for  the  first  time  into  the 
laborator}%  she  claimed  to  have  seen  all  the  in- 
struments at  this  alleged  previous  visit.  In 
another  case  the  patient  claimed  to  have  previ- 
ously dreamed  events  which  had  occurred  for 
the  first  time. 

In  a  personal  study  of  some  cases  of  param- 
nesia occurring  in  a  form  of  alcoholic  insanity,* 
isolated  events  in  the  patient's  present  memory 

* "  Reduplicative  Paramnesia." — Journal  of  Nervout  and  Mental 
Disease,"  1904. 


ILLUSIONS  OF  MEMORY  277 

were  impressed  upon  him  as  a  repetition  of  previ- 
ous events.  In  other  words,  everything  seemed 
doubled  or  reduplicated,  and  for  this  reason  the 
condition  was  called  reduplicative  paramnesia. 
One  of  the  patients  had  the  illusion  that  another 
person  of  the  same  name  was  formerly  in  the 
same  hospital,  that  he  had  visited  him  several 
times  and  that  he  bore  a  minute  physical  re- 
semblance to  him,  even  down  to  the  detail  of 
the  amputation  of  identical  fingers  of  the  same 
hand.  He  furthermore  stated  that  the  hospital 
grounds,  buildings,  wards,  nurses,  etc.,  were 
familiar  to  him  because  of  this  former  visit. 
Other  cases  showed  the  same  duplication  of 
events  with  the  minutest  details.  The  phenome- 
non was  interpreted  as  due  to  a  doubling  of 
memory  images  in  consciousness,  but  as  the  pa- 
tients were  not  aware  of  the  doubling,  the  illu- 
sions were  looked  upon  as  actual  events. 

A  stenographic  report  of  a  portion  of  a  con- 
versation in  a  subject  with  illusions  of  memory, 
will  explain  better  than  any  description,  this 
curious  disturbance.  An  examination  of  this 
patient's  physical  condition,  including  tests  for 
sensation  and  the  reflexes,  had  been  made  a  week 
previously.  The  patient  had  never  been  in  the 
hospital  before  and,  therefore,  his  minute  de- 
scription of  an  alleged  previous  residence  there, 
was  a  pure  illusion.     This  illusion  of  memory 


278       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

was   a  condition  due  to  disease,   and  not  the 
result  of  a  deliberate  fabrication. 

Up  to  the  time  that  the  illusions  of  memory 
suddenly  appeared  during  a  spontaneous  re- 
mark, there  had  been  no  suspicion  of  any  dis- 
turbance of  this  kind.  The  following  is  an 
account  of  the  illusion: 

"  One  day  the  subject  spontaneously  said,  *  I  was  here 
in  this  hospital  four  years  ago  for  typhoid  fever' 
(incorrect). 

Q.  For  how  long?     A.  About  two  months. 

Q.  Who  was  your  doctor?     A.  I  don't  know. 

Q.  Describe  him?     A.  A  little  black  mustache. 

Q.  In  what  ward  were  you?     A.  A  hospital  ward. 

Q.  What  did  it  look  like?  A.  It  had  photographs 
and  battleships  on  the  walls,  and  they  worked  the 
biograph  on  me  to  see  how  much  I  could  stand. 

Q.  Did  the  hospital  resemble  this?  A.  Not  exactly, 
there  is  a  lot  of  new  things  here. 

Q.  Is  this  the  same  hospital?     A.  Yes. 

Q.  Was  I  a  doctor  there?  A.  I  don't  know  for 
sure,  but  I  think  you  were. 

Q.  Did  I  look  the  same  as  now?  A.  No,  you  only 
had  a  little  mustache  then. 

Q.  What  is  my  name?     A.  I  forget. 

Q.  What  did  I  do  to  you?     A.  Cured  me. 

Q.  Did  I  examine  you?  A.  Every  way,  and'  jom 
Baid  you  would  make  a  good  man  of  me.  And  you 
examined  my  feet  and  legs  and  arms  with  a  hammer. 
You  stuck  me  in  those  places.     Then  you  swung  my 


ILLUSIONS  OF  MEMORY  279 

feet,  too  (referring  to  the  physical  examination  a  week 
previously). 

Q.  What  ward  were  you  in  before?  A.  I  guess  this 
ward. 

Q.  All  the  time?  A.  No,  I  was  in  the  hospital  ward 
for  awhile. 

Q.  Since  coming  here  this  time  have  you  been  in  this 
ward  all  the  time?     A.  No. 

Q.  In  what  other  ward  were  you?  A.  Hospital 
ward. 

Q.  Did  it  resemble  the  hospital  ward  you  were  in 
before?     A.  Yes. 

Q.  How  many  nurses  there?  A.  Four  or  five 
(three). 

Q.  Are  you  sure  that  you  have  been  in  this  hospital 
before?    A.  I  am  sure  of  that;  I  was  here  two  months." 

At  a  later  examination  nothing  of  the  above 
could  be  elicited.  The  patient  had  a  vague  re- 
membrance of  the  physical  examination,  but 
he  placed  it  at  his  alleged  previous  residence  in 
the  hospital.  He  had  been  in  the  infirmary 
("hospital")  ward  for  some  time  and  the 
period  during  which  he  was  in  bed  in  the  in- 
firmary ward,  and  also  the  ward  itself,  he 
reduphcated  in  all  his  statements.  In  addition 
there  was  also  a  prolongation  of  the  time  sense. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  SPLITTING  OF  A   PEESONALITY 

It  has  been  shown  by  numerous  investigators 
that  multiple  personalities  present  various  de- 
grees of  organization  of  the  secondary  person- 
aUties,  from  the  simplest  to  the  most  complex. 
For  convenience  they  may  be  divided  into  three 
prominent  groups: 

1.  Secondary  personalities  may  develop  as 
.hypnotic  phenomena.  These  may  be  called 
abortive  personalities.  To  this  group  also  be- 
long some  of  the .  subconscious  states  of  auto- 
matic writing.  Compared  with  the  more  fully 
developed  forms  these  types  are  the  most  sim- 
ple; they  are  really  artificially  dissociated 
groups  of  memories  without  the  development 
of  a  new  ego.  Examples  of  this  class  are  the 
state  called  "Mamie"  in  Prince's  case  of  Mrs. 
R.,  Janet's  cases  of  Madame  B.,  Lucie,  and 
Marceline  R.,  and  finally  the  case  of  Mrs.  Y., 
which  constitutes  the  present  chapter.  It  is 
extremely  doubtful  if,  in  any  of  these  cases,  a 
new  personality  would  have  developed,  if  the 

280 


THE  SPLITTING  OF  A  PERSONALITY    281 

subject  was  not  already  in  a  state  of  partial 
mental  dissociation. 

2.  The  more  complex  forms,  such  as  Mile. 
Helene  Smith  reported  by  Professor  Floumoy 
("  From  India  to  the  Planet  Mars  ") ,  and  Mrs. 
"  Smead,"  studied  by  Professor  Hyslop.  Both 
these  cases  showed  automatic  writing  with  sub- 
conscious fabrications,  the  communications  giv- 
ing alleged  accounts  of  life  on  the  planet  Mars, 
frequently  in  a  highly  imaginative  and  fabricat- 
ing Martian  language. 

3.  The  most  highly  developed  forms,  with 
the  development  of  a  new  ego  resembling, 
outwardly  at  least,  a  normal  mental  life.  To 
this  group  belongs  Dr.  Prince's  case  of  Miss 
Beauchamp. 

These  groups  are  not  distinct,  however,  for 
there  is  a  decided  overlapping  of  types.  Phe- 
nomena such  as  automatic  writing,  crystal 
vi_sions,  and  gaps  in  the  memory  (amnesia), 
which  are  present  in  the  most  simple  dissocia- 
tions may  also  be  present  in  the  most  complex. 
Before  passing  to  the  study  of  Mrs.  Y.  it  will 
be  well  for  the  sake  of  clearness  to  give  a  brief 
account  of  some  of  the  cases  belonging  to  group 
1  of  secondary  personalities.  We  will  then  be 
able  to  comprehend  more  clearly  the  interesting 
phenomena  presented  by  Mrs.  Y.  as  the  hyp- 


282       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

notic  dissociation  pre-eminently  accounted  for 
the  development  of  her  secondary  personalities. 

In  Dr.  Prince's  case  of  Mrs.  R.,^  there  de- 
veloped a  hypnotic  personality  who  called  her- 
self "  Mamie."  The  normal  self  was  called 
"Annie."  "Mamie"  knew  "Annie,"  hut 
"  Annie  "  had  no  knowledge  of  "  Mamie." 

Janet  ^  reports  the  case  of  a  poor  peasant 
woman,  Madame  B.,  who  had  heen  repeatedly 
hypnotized  for  years.  Finally  two  personalities 
developed,  a  normal  waking  one  known  as 
Leonie,  and  a  hypnotic  personality  who  called 
herself  Leontine.  Leonie  was  serious,  sad,  calm, 
slow,  and  timid,  while  Leontine,  on  the  contrary, 
was  restless,  gay,  vivacious,  and  noisy.  In  a 
deeper  hypnotic  state,  a  third  personality  ap- 
peared, known  by  the  name  of  Leonore.  Of 
the  same  class  is  Janet's  Marceline  R.,  who  suf- 
fered from  severe  hysterical  vomiting  in  her 
normal  state,  but  when  the  patient  was  hypno- 
tized the  vomiting  ceased. 

In  our  case  of  Mrs.  Y.  it  was  possible  to 

demonstrate    four    distinct   personalities.      For 

several  years  she  had  suffered   from  an  h^ 

terical  paralysis  which  had  resisted  all  forms  of 

Jtreatment,  and  it  was  finally  determined  to  try 

*  Morton  Prince:  "Some  of  the  Revelations  of  Hypnotism." — 
Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  1890. 
•Pierre  Janet:  " L'Automatisme  Psfchologique." 


THE  SPLITTING  OF  A  PERSONALITY    288 

hypnotic  suggestion,  in  the  hope  of  effecting  a 
cure.  At  first  there  was  no  suspicion  of  the 
presence  of  the  interesting  phenomena  about  to 
be  described.  Suddenly  and  spontaneously, 
however,  during  the  course  of  treatment,  a  new 
personahty  developed  in  one  of  the  hypnotic 
states  and  on  further  hypnotization  three  other 
distinct  personalities  were  added  to  this  one, 
making  four  in  all.  The  unravelling  of  the 
three  last  personalities  was  altogether  as  unex- 
pected as  the  development  of  the  first.  These 
new  personalities  persisted  only  during  the  hyp- 
notic state.  When  the  patient  was  awakened 
she  inmiediately  reverted  to  her  normal  condi- 
tion without  memory  of  the  hypnotic  personal- 
ities. The  case  also  showed  other  interesting 
phenomena  of  dissociation  of  consciousness,  such 
as  the  presence  of  crystal  visions,  subconscious 
perception  of  stimuli,  and  the  development  of 
hallucinations  while  the  patient  was  half  asleep 
and  half  awake  (hypnagogic  state).  In  order 
that  the  reader  may  clearly  grasp  the  evolution 
of  these  spontaneous  hypnotic  personalities,  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  that  the  main  events  of  the 
patient's  life  be  given  in  full  detail.  Other- 
wise, much  that  is  clear  and  definite  will  remain 
obscure. 

The  patient  was  born  in  England  and  came 
to  America  when  she  was  fourteen  years  of  age. 


284,       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

Two  years  later  she  entered  college  and  re- 
mained there  several  years.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  she  married  a  man  whose  conduct  to- 
wards her  was  brutal  and  neglectful.  The 
patient  had  six  children,  one  of  whom  (E.), 
her  favorite  daughter,  died  in  November,  1901, 
after  a  protracted  illness.  During  ten  years 
of  her  married  life  (from  1889  to  1899)  her 
husband  was  in  the  hotel  business  in  the  city  of 
P.  He  deserted  her  shortly  after  the  death  of 
her  favorite  daughter.  The  following  two  years 
she  was  superintendent  of  a  certain  society  in 
L.,  and  later  became  matron  of  an  institution, 
a  position  which  she  retained  until  February, 
1904.  During  this  time  she  also  did  some  liter- 
ary work.  Both  sources  of  income  being  insuf- 
ficient to  sustain  herself  and  her  children,  she 
was  compelled  to  place  them  later  in  an  asylum. 
Immediately  afterwards  she  became  ill  and  it 
was  necessary  to  undergo  a  severe  surgical  opera- 
tion by  Dr.  J.  of  L.  On  the  night  of  her  daugh- 
ter's funeral  the  patient  was  taken  suddenly  ill 
and  remained  in  bed  for  three  weeks,  experiencing 
a  severe  sense  of  exhaustion.  The  exhaustion 
continued,  the  right  arm  would  occasionally  be- 
come numb  and  cold  and  the  limbs  grew  weaker 
and  weaker.  Thus  we  see  that  a  series  of  severe 
emotional  shocks  extending  over  several  years 
was  followed  by  a  group  of  sjrmptoms  very 


THE  SPLITTING  OF  A  PERSONALITY    285 

suggestive  of  neurasthenia.  Instead  of  improv- 
ing, these  symptoms  gradually  became  worse 
and  were  aggravated  during  the  next  few  years 
by  her  financial  condition,  overwork,  and  worry 
about  her  children.  She  was  finally  admitted 
to  a  sanitarium  in  July,  1905.  During  the  first 
few  months  in  the  sanitarium  she  suffered  from 
sleeplessness,  depression,  weakness,  severe  and 
almost  continual  headaches,  and  pains  in  the 
limbs,  in  fact,  nearly  all  the  classical  symptoms 
of  neurasthenia  or  nervous  exhaustion.  In  ad- 
dition, she  had  several  fainting  spells.  Six 
months  after  admission  there  developed  com- 
plete paralysis  of  both  lower  extremities  and 
of  the  right  arm,  with  complete  loss  of  sensa- 
tion (anaesthesia)  in  all  the  paralyzed  members. 
Nausea  and  vomiting  were  almost  persistent. 
The  field  of  vision  in  the  right  eye  became  much 
limited.  She  became  irritable  and  cranky  and 
made  unreasonable  demands  of  the  nurses  and 
of  her  physician.  At  times  she  was  delirious 
and  suffered  from  hallucinations  of  hearing  and 
a  fear  of  receiving  personal  injury  at  the  hands 
of  imaginary  individuals.  After  remaining  in 
the  sanitarium  for  a  year,  she  was  removed  to  a 
private  home,  and  from  there  she  was  taken  to 
the  hospital  where  I  saw  her,  and  where  the 
following  experiments  and  studies  were  made: 
The  patient  was  a  bright,  intelligent  woman, 


286       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

without  any  defect  of  intellect  or  memory. 
Both  lower  Hmbs  and  the  right  arm  were  para- 
lyzed and  completely  anesthetic.  It  will  be 
unnecessary  to  give  the  other  details  of  the 
physical  examination.  It  is  sufficient  to  state 
that  everything  absolutely  pointed  to  the  fact 
that  the  patient  was  suffering  from  a  functional 
(hysterical)  paralysis.  Hypnosis  was  used  in 
an  attempt  to  cure  this  paralysis.  On  the  first 
few  attempts,  the  patient  went  into  a  deep 
hypnotic  state  with  total  amnesia  (loss  of 
memory),  for  this  state,  on  awakening.  In 
the  waking  state,  when  the  anaesthetic  arm  was 
touched  or  hghtly  tapped  a  definite  number  of 
times  (three,  four,  and  six),  the  patient's  eyes 
being  meanwhile  tightly  closed,  and  the  patient 
was  asked  to  state  the  first  number  that  came 
into  her  mind,  in  every  case  this  corresponded 
to  the  number  of  taps  or  touches  made.  Al- 
though the  experiment  was  frequently  repeated, 
in  order  to  avoid  error  and  coincidence,  the  reac- 
tion remained  the  same. 

Here  we  have  a  pertinent  example  of  the  per- 
sistence of  subconscious  perceptions.  In  other 
words,  the  severe  anaesthesia  was  merely  a  func- 
tional one,  and  the  patient  subconsciously 
counted  the  number  of  stimuli,  although  con- 
sciously unable  to  feel  them.  After  the  patient 
had  been  hypnotized  a  number  of  times,   the 


THE  SPLITTING  OF  A  PERSONALITY    287 

first  of  the  hypnotic  personalities  suddenly  and 
spontaneously  developed  under  the  following 
conditions.  On  a  number  of  previous  occasions 
when  the  patient  was  addressed  while  in  the  hyp- 
nosis, she  always  gave  relevant  answers,  had  a 
perfectly  clear  comprehension  of  her  surround- 
ings, knew  the  date  and  where  she  was.  On 
this  occasion,  however,  while  the  patient  was  in 
the  hypnotic  state,  a  new  personaUty  had  de- 
veloped, which  we  shall  designate  by  A.  In 
this  personality  the  patient  believed  she  was  in 
England,  shortly  after  her  marriage.  The  de- 
tails follow  in  the  form  of  questions  and  an- 
swers, the  form  in  which  the  notes  were  taken,  as 
indicating  more  clearly  than  any  description,  the 
peculiar  mental  state  which  had  developed. 

Personality  A. 

Patient  in  a  deep  hypnosis. 

Q.  Where  are  you?     A.  With  mother  in  London. 

Q.  Is  this  London?     A.  Yes. 

Q.  What  month  is  this?  A.  December — when  I 
was  married. 

Q.  What  year?     A.  1887. 

Q.  How  old  are  you?  A.  I  was  married  at 
eighteen 

Q.  Are  you  eighteen  years  old  now?     A.  Yes. 

Q.  Have  you  any  children?  A.  I  am  to  have  a 
baby  soon. 

Q.  Where  are  ^ou  living?     A.  In  a  beautiful  hon]^ 


288       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

Q.  In  what  city  are  you  living?     A.  D. on  the 

south  coast — in  a  pretty  cottage  there. 

Q.  What  is  your  name?     A.  It  is  Mrs.  Y.,  now. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  married?  A.  Since 
last  December. 

Q.  How  old  are  you?  A*.  Eighteen.  I  told  the 
minister  that  I  ran  away  from  home  and  school. 

On  being  awakened  the  patient  remembered 
nothing  of  the  above  conversation,  gave  her 
correct  age  and  the  age  of  her  children,  and 
when  confronted  with  some  of  the  facts  elicited 
from  personality  A.,  seemed  surprised  at  the 
physician's  knowledge. 

Personality  B. 
Several  days  later  the  patient  was  again  hypno- 
tized. In  this  state  which  we  call  B.  the  patient 
believed  that  she  was  living  in  the  city  of  P. 
(United  States)  during  the  years  1889  to  1899. 
There  was  no  knowledge  of  subsequent  events. 

Q.  How  old  are  you?     A.  Just  married. 

Q.  But  how  old  are  you?  A.  My  father  will  tell 
you  (irritably). 

Q.  Are  you  in  good  health?     A.  Oh,  yes. 

Q.  Is  your  arm  paralyzed?  A.  Of  course  it  is  not. 
You  know  it  is  not. 

Q.  Then  move  it.  A.  I  can  move  it  as  well  as  my 
other  arm.  (She  makes  a  vain  effort  to  move  the 
paralyzed  right  arm.) 


THE  SPLITTING  OF  A  PERSONALITY    289 

Q.  What  city  is  this?     A.  P.  (sighing). 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  of Hospital  in  B.?    A. 

Why,  no  (referring  to  the  hospital  where  the  patient 
is  at  present). 

Q.  How  many  children  have  you.'*     A.  Two. 

Q.  How  old  is  the  eldest?     A.  Three  years. 

Q.  What  month  is  this?     A.  The  twelfth  of  May. 

Q.  How  old  are  you?     A.  Twenty  years. 

Q.  What  are  you  doing  in  the  city  of  P.?  A.  In 
the  Hotel. 

Q.  Who  is  the  proprietor?  A.  My  husband,  of 
course. 

Q.  Were  you  ever  a  patient  in  any  hospital?  A. 
No,  I  was  always  too  well  to  be  a  patient  anywhere. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  President  McKinley?  A. 
No — ^but  I  remember  Garfield,  who  was  assassinated. 

Q.  Who  is  the  ruler  of  England?  A.  Queen 
Victoria. 

Q.  Ever  hear  of  the Sanatarium?     (The  Sana- 

tarium  where  the  patient  was  ill  during  the  years 
1905—1906.)     A.  Never. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  married?  A.  Three  or 
four  years. 

At  this  point  the  patient  awoke  suddenly, 
with  no  recollection  of  the  above  conversation. 
She  was  hypnotized  two  days  later  and  the  B. 
personality  again  appeared.  At  this  time  she 
was  irritable  and  cranky,  refused  to  talk  at  first, 
stating  that  she  did  not  talk  to  strangers,  say- 
ing, "  I  don't  recognize  your  voice."    In  neither 


290       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

of  these  personalities  did  the  paralysis  or  loss 
of  sensation  disappear,  a  phenomenon  which  was 
observed  in  other  cases  with  the  development  of 
hypnotic  personalities. 

Personality  C, 

In  this  personaKty,  the  patient  believed  she 
was  in  the  Institution  during  the  years  1902- 
1904. 

Q.  Where  are  you?    A.  This  is  the  Institution. 

Q.  In  what  city?     A.  B. 

Q.  What  are  you  doing  here?  A.  What  am  I  doing 
here?  (surprised) — ^I  came  from  another  institution 
in  L. 

Q.  But  what  are  you  doing  here?  A.  I  am  super- 
intendent. 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  here?    A.  Two  years. 

Q.  Are  you  in  the  Institution  at  present?     A.  Yes. 

Q.  Who  am  I?  (Dr.  C.)  A.  I  think  you  are 
Dr.  J. 

Q.  Were  you  a  patient  in  a  sanatarium?    A.  Never. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  of Hospital?  (where  the 

patient  is  at  present.)     A.  Yes. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  been  there  as  a  patient?    A.  No. 

Q.  What  year  is  it?     A.  I  don't  know. 

Q.  Do  you  know  the  month?  A.  I  can't  tell  if  it  is 
summer  or  not.     (In  reality  it  was  February.) 

Q.  Are  you  in  good  health?  A.  Always  well,  but  I 
am  tired,  I  don't  go  to  bed  until  morning. 


THE  SPLITTING  OF  A  PERSONALITY    291 

Q.  What  time  is  it  now?  A.  It  is  night — about 
three  o'clock.     (Incorrect.) 

Q.  What  are  you  doing  now?  A.  I  am  writing,  I 
can't  be  bothered  talking  (irritably),  I  have  no  time. 
I  write  for  a  domestic  column  in  a  paper. 

Q.  Are  you  in  your  room  at  the  Institution?  A. 
Yes. 

Q.  Are  you  awake?  A.  Of  course  I'm  awake  (sur- 
prised).    I  could  not  write  if  I  were  asleep. 

Urged  to  make  an  attempt  to  write  with  the  right 
hand,  she  is  unable  to  do  so. 

Q.  What  year  is  it?     A.  I  think  it  is  1904. 

Q.  Isn't  it  1907?     A.  No. 

Q.  How  many  children  have  you?  A.  Six,  E.  is 
dead. 

The  patient  was  hypnotized  several  days  later 
and  on  this  occasion  Personality  C.  reappeared, 
although  some  further  details  developed.  She 
believed  that  she  was  in  the  city  of  L.,  in  the 
office  of  Dr.  J.,  the  physician  who  had  per- 
formed several  surgical  operations  on  the  pa- 
tient. Only  the  more  important  details  of  this 
other  phase  of  Personality  C.  will  be  given,  in 
order  to  show  how  vividly  this  particular  state 
was  enacted  and  how  dominant  was  the  dissocia- 
tion. All  the  answers  were  given  quickly  and 
in  a  tone  of  voice  which  showed  that  the  patient 
was  hurried  and  resented  any  effort  to  detain 
her.     Further,  when  speaking  of  her  husband's 


292       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

conduct  towards  her,  the  attitude  was  one  of 
hate  and  disgust,  mingled  with  surprise  that 
Dr.  J.  should  be  ignorant  of  all  the  facts.  It 
is  well  to  state  that  at  this  time  she  mistook  me 
for  Dr.  J. 

Q.  How  do  you  feel  now?  A.  Tired,  I've  been  on 
a  case  all  day.  Dr.  J.,  you  know  all  about  the  case. 
Oh,  Dr.  J.,  will  you  give  me  something  for  that  pain? 
Do  you  think  I've  taken  cold? 

Q.  Who  am  I?     (Dr.  C.)     A.  Why— Dr.  J. 

Q.  What  city  is  this?     A.  L. 

Q.  What  place  is  this?  A.  Dr.  J.'s  office.  Oh, Dr.  J., 
give  me  something,  please.  I  must  catch  that  four 
o'clock  train. 

Q.  For  where?     A.  B. 

Q.  Where  are  you  located  in  B.  ?  A.  At  the  Institu- 
tion. 

Q.  Are  you  with  your  husband?  A.  Why,  Dr.  J., 
you  know  all  about  it.  You  ask  such  silly  questions. 
Don't  you  remember? 

Q.  What  time  of  day  is  it?  A.  It  is  ten  to  four. 
Didn't  you  say  so  ?  I  don't  want  you  to  take  me  down 
to  the  train.  I  can  walk  myself.  There  is  an  awful 
bhzzard  going  on  now,  everything  is  blocked  up.  I 
have  to  catch  the  four  o'clock  train. 

At  this  point  the  patient  suddenly  awoke 
with  a  start.  There  was  absolutely  no  recol- 
lection of  what  had  taken  place  during  hypnosis. 
This  personality,  more  than  the  others,  was  full 


THE  SPLITTING  OF  A  PERSONALITY    293 

of  activity.  The  patient  actually  seemed  to  live 
over  again  certain  incidents  of  her  past  life. 
Immediately  after  the  patient  awoke  from  this 
last  hypnotic  state,  some  experiments  in  crystal 
gazing  were  carried  out,  with  results  as  detailed 
in  the  chapter  on  crystal  gazing.  Some  of  the 
experiences  detailed  in  this  hypnotic  state  were 
reproduced  as  a  crystal  vision. 

Personality  D. 

Hypnotized  several  days  later  and  Personal- 
ity D.  appeared,  in  which  the  patient  beheved 
she  was  in  the  same  Sanitarium  where  the  hys- 
terical paralysis  developed.  This  was  during 
the  years  1905-1906. 

Only  a  few  of  the  most  essential  details  will 
be  given,  but  here  again  as  in  Personality  C.  the 
realism  of  the  hypnotic  state  was  marked  and 
the  patient  mistook  me  for  the  physician  in  the 
Sanitarium. 

Q.  Where  are  you?     A.  In  the  Sanatarium. 

Q.  Do  you  know  me?  A.  Yes,  Dr.  M.  (Physician 
in  the  Sanitarium). 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  here?     A.  Don't  know. 

Q.  Why  did  you  come  here?  A.  Why,  doctor,  I 
came  here  because  I  was  tired  and  I  haven't  been  sleep- 
ing.    But  don't  let  the  young  doctor  take  my  history. 

Q.  How  long  do  you  intend  to  remain  here?  A. 
Three  weeks — then  I  will  take  my  position  again. 


294      DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

Q.  What  is  your  position?  A.  Why,  doctor,  I  told 
you.  Didn't  I  show  you  all  my  testimonials  (in  a  sur- 
prised tone  of  voice)  ? 

Q.  Is  your  arm  paralyzed?  A.  Why,  no — I  have 
been  sitting  out  on  the  veranda  to-day. 

Therefore,  as  will  be  clearly  seen  from  the 
data  given  above,  the  original  Mrs.  Y.,  a  sufferer 
from  a  severe  form  of  hysteria,  when  hypno- 
tized spontaneously  aeveloped  four  successive 
personalities  or  rather  multiple  hypnotic  states. 
In  none  of  the  states  was  there  any  change  of 
character,  other  than  demanded  as  a  reaction  to 
her  surroundings. 

These  four  personalities  may  be  summarized 
as  foUows: 

Personality  A.  In  England  in  1887,  when 
eighteen  years  of  age,  just  after  her  marriage. 

Personality  B.  In  the  city  of  P.  during  the 
years  1889  to  1899. 

Personality  C.  In  the  Institution  at  B.  dur- 
ing the  years  1902-1904. 

Another  phase  of  the  same  personality  de- 
veloped in  a  later  hypnotic  state,  viz.: — an  epi- 
sode in  the  office  of  Dr.  J.  in  L. 

Personality  D,  In  the  Sanitarium  during 
the  years  1905-1906,  during  which  time  the  hys- 
terical paralysis  developed. 

All  these  states  may  be  called  hypnotic  per- 
sonalities, to  which  we  have  referred  above.    The 


THE  SPLITTING  OF  A  PERSONALITY     295 

mental  organization  in  each  personality  was 
simple,  there  was  no  development  of  a  new  ego, 
and  no  change  of  character.  We  are  dealing, 
strictly  speaking,  with  a  complex  group  of  mem- 
ories. The  four  personalities  are  really  the 
original  Mrs.  Y.,  yet  each  personality  is  Mrs. 
,y.  at  a  particular  period  of  her  life.  The  indi- 
vidual hypnotic  personalities  had  no  knowledge 
of  subsequent  events  in  the  life  of  Mrs.  Y. 
Thus  the  A.,  B.,  C,  and  D.  states  are  each 
ignorant  of  Mrs.  Y.  and  her  present  hysterical 
paralysis.  In  her  waking  condition,  however, 
the  original  Mrs.  Y.  has  a  knowledge  of  all  the 
past  events  of  her  life,  but  does  not  know  that 
she  reverts  to  these  events  in  her  hypnotic 
trances  and  develops  an  incomplete  hypnotic 
personaUty.  Each  of  the  hypnotic  personaUties 
had  a  knowledge  of  the  patient's  entire  life 
previous  to  the  date  which  the  personality  com- 
prised, but  not  subsequent  to  it.  Thus  we  are 
dealing  with  a  peculiar  anmesia  or  gap  in  the 
memory  occurring  in  a  subject  in  whom  mental 
dissociation  easily  took  place. 

Janet  has  formulated  a  law,  that  in  the  de- 
velopment of  secondary  personalities  anaesthesia, 
or  loss  of  sensation,  and  amnesia,  or  gaps  in 
memory,  go  together.  Amnesia  is  invariably 
present  in  cases  of  multiple  personality,  particu- 
larly in  the  more  complex  types.    But  losses  of 


i96      DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

sensation  do  not  always  take  place  when  one 
personality  changes  to  another  and  when  one  of 
these  personalities  is  combined  with  an  anass- 
thesia.  It  certainly  did  not  occur  in  Mrs.  Y., 
as  all  the  hypnotic  personaHties  preserved  the 
anaesthesia  and  paralysis  wliich  were  present  in 
the  original  Mrs.  Y.  This  was  probably  due 
to  the  incomplete  form  of  dissociation  which 
took  place  when  the  patient  was  hypnotized. 


CHAPTER  V 

HYSTERIA 

We  are  now  prepared  to  take  up  one  of  the 
most  interesting  of  functional  diseases,  a  dis- 
ease which  in  whole  or  in  part  may  be  taken 
as  a  type  of  the  pathological  dissociations  of 
consciousness.  We  refer  to  the  disease  hysteria. 
The  study  of  this  disease  has  thrown  a  flood  of 
light  upon  the  mechanism  of  dissociation.  Hys- 
teria is  one  of  the  most  complex  of  functional 
neuroses,  and  although  the  work  of  recent  in- 
vestigators has  helped  to  an  understanding  of  it, 
yet  many  of  its  phenomena  still  offer  some  of 
the  most  baffling  problems  in  psychopathology. 
Certain  functional  neuroses  seem  to  be  caused 
by  mental  dissociations.  These  fall  into  several 
groups,  as  follows: 

1.  The  neurasthenic  state,  which  frequently 
shows  phenomena  which  lead  one  to  beUeve  that 
it  is  a  form  of  mental  dissociation  caused  by 
fatigue. 

2.  The  more  complex  psychasthenic  state, 
with  its  pecuhar  obsessions  and  fears,  its  epi- 

297 


298       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCOJNSCIOUS 

sodes  of  unreality,  and  its  frequent  far-reaching 
effects  upon  the  personality. 

3.  The  periodic  changes  of  personality  with 
losses  of  memory  for  each  personality.  These 
are  known  as  double  or  multiple  personality 
according  to  the  number  of  groups  which  are 
formed. 

4.  The  systematized  functional  losses  of  mem- 
ory or  amnesia. 

5.  The  condition  known  as  hysteria,  in  which 
the  dissociation  comprises  all  the  motor,  physical, 
and  psychical  activities  which  make  up  the  com- 
plex personality. 

It  appears  from  recent  investigations  that  the 
disease  hysteria,  the  phenomena  of  multiple  per- 
sonality, and  the  artificial  hypnotic  state  have 
many  of  the  same  symptoms  and  much  of  the 
same  mechanism  in  common. 

In  the  chapter  on  the  analysis  of  the  mental 
life  a  brief  account  of  the  disease  hysteria  was 
given.  In  the  report  of  a  case  we  saw  some 
of  the  elements  of  which  the  disease  was  com- 
posed. We  are  now  prepared  to  discuss  the 
subject  at  length.  Hysteria  is  of  paramount 
importance,  not  only  from  the  medical  stand- 
point, but  because  many  of  the  famous  char- 
acters of  history  showed  the  disease  in  a  well- 
defined  form.  Many  of  those  who  have  been 
blind  or  paralyzed  for  years,  or  in  whom  tumors 


HYSTERIA  299 

appeared  and  then  suddenly  disappeared  with- 
out surgical  aid,  were  cases  of  hysteria. 

We  often  hear  people  say  that  such  or  such 
a  person  is  hysterical.  When  this  term  is  used 
in  popular  language,  it  means  unstable,  ill  bal- 
anced, erratic,  easily  moved  to  laughter  or  to 
tears.  The  word  "  hysterical "  in  a  popular 
sense  is  used  as  loosely  as  the  word  "  nervous." 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  while  hysterical  persons 
may  be  unstable  or  ill  balanced  in  manner,  yet 
uncontrollable  laughter  or  crying  but  seldom 
accompanies  true  hysteria.  So  widely  does  hys- 
teria depart  from  the  popular  idea  of  the  dis- 
ease, that  the  layman  frequently  fails  to  recog- 
nize it.  In  hysteria  we  are  deahng  with  a  world 
in  itself.  It  is  the  most  protean  of  all  nervous 
diseases,  its  symptoms  are  multitudinous  and  it 
can  stimulate  many  functional  and  indeed  some 
organic  diseases.  The  manifold  symptoms  of 
hysteria  have  no  organic  basis ;  such  symptoms 
as  paralysis,  sudden  losses  of  sensation,  or  sud- 
den losses  of  the  voice,  blindness,  convulsions, 
contractures,  peculiar  mental  disturbances,  be- 
ing, when  they  occur  in  hysteria,  purely  func- 
tional in  nature.  Hysteria  bears  no  relation 
to  the  etymological  definition  of  the  word,  for 
we  have  hysterical  men  as  well  as  women.  In 
fact,  some  of  the  most  marked  cases  of  hysteria 
have  occurred  in  strong,  athletic  men. 


300       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

This  brings  us  to  the  various  theories  of  the 
disease.  The  older  idea,  that  it  had  something 
to  do  with  the  womb,  has  been,  of  course,  entirely 
discarded,  its  only  survival  being  Freud's  theory 
of  the  sexual  mechanism  of  the  hysterical  state, 
which  will  be  discussed  later. 

The  modern  work  on  hysteria  may  be  said  to 
have  started  with  Charcot  and  his  pupils,  of 
whom  Janet  is  the  most  prominent  of  the  later 
representatives.  Indeed  the  latter  has  given  us 
a  working  basis  for  the  mechanism  of  hysteria 
which  has  born  the  most  fruitful  and  practical 
results.  Previous  to  the  work  of  Charcot  and  his 
pupils  the  French  school  had  directed  a  certain 
amount  of  attention  to  hysteria,  and  their  ideas 
on  the  subject  paved  the  way  for  the  more  mod- 
em theories.  France  has  led  the  way  for  the 
work  on  this  disease,  probably,  on  account  of  the 
abundance  of  clinical  material  which  may  be 
found  in  the  French  hospitals.  It  would  lead  us 
too  far  to  give  a  detailed  account  of  all  the 
French  investigations  on  a  disease  which  Janet 
says  has  a  beautiful  history.  In  1859  Briquet 
defined  hysteria  as  a  general  disease  which  modi- 
fies the  whole  organism.  This  definition,  in  a 
way,  resembled  a  later  one  given  by  the  German 
neurologist  Mobius,  who  stated  that  hysteria 
was  a  condition  in  which  ideas  controlled  the 
body  and  produced  morbid  changes  in  its  func- 


HYSTERIA  801 

tions.  Now  it  is  to  the  merit  of  Charcot  and 
the  earher  French  school  to  have  given  us  what 
in  time  became  later  designated  as  the  classical 
picture  of  the  disease  hysteria,  although,  as  we 
shall  see  later,  their  description  of  the  disease 
is  open  to  certain  changes,  modifications,  and 
even  criticisms.  Charcot  had  no  theory  to  offer 
for  the  mechanism  of  hysteria,  other  than  it 
occurred  in  highly  suggestible  subjects  in  whom 
ideas  could  control  functions  of  the  entire  body. 
Heredity,  is  the  great  predisposing  factor  in 
hysteria,  the  disease  occurring  particularly  in 
the  offspring  of  hysterical  and  neuropathic 
parents.  While  the  larger  number  of  the  cases 
of  hysteria  are  seen  in  adult  women  and  men, 
the  disease  may  also  occur  in  children,  even  in 
very  young  children.  Juvenile  types  of  hys- 
teria have  been  reported  in  children  varying 
from  three  to  twelve  years  of  age.  Probably 
in  the  very  early  cases  the  child  imitates  the 
symptoms  of  some  other  child,  or  some  adult, 
who  is  suffering  from  either  a  functional  or 
an  organic  disease  of  the  nervous  system.  I 
have  seen  children  who  have  imitated  the  con- 
vulsions of  genuine  epilepsy  and  also  of  an 
organic  paralysis  of  the  legs  or  arms.  Here  the 
child  seems  to  have  become  the  victim  of  a  fixed 
idea  or  of  a  deeply-rooted  obsession.  Hysteria 
in  children  may  be  treated  as  Jung  and  Freud 


802        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

have  done,  through  psycho-analytic  methods, 
or  through  what  are  termed  the  methods  of 
surprise  and  disregard.  It  is  best,  however, 
in  these  cases  to  combine  any  form  of  psy- 
chotherapy with  purely  physical  methods  of 
treatment.  When  hysteria  occurs  in  children 
the  manifestations  of  the  disease  are  usually 
limited  to  one  or  to  a  few  symptoms,  such  as 
transitory  paralysis  of  a  limb,  hysterical  pain 
limited  to  a  joint,  losses  of  voice,  convulsive  at- 
tacks, blindness  or  mutism. 

Emotions  of  various  sorts,  particularly  fright 
and  terror,  or  the  suppression  of  painful  ex- 
periences are  among  the  chief  direct  provoking 
agents  of  hysteria.  In  adults,  as  well  as  in 
children,  outbreaks  of  hysteria  may  arise  from 
imitation.  Then  we  have  hysterical  epidemics, 
as  in  the  dancing  mania  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
Fatigue  may  also  bring  on  an  hysterical  con- 
dition, and  the  neurasthenic  state  that  is  pro- 
duced may  be  one  of  the  principal  mental  signs 
of  a  disease  which,  on  close  analysis,  is  found  to 
be  hysterical  in  nature.  So  we  see  that  it  is  not 
necessary  for  a  subject  to  have  all  the  classical 
symptoms  in  order  to  be  a  sufferer  from  hys- 
teria. A  few  only  of  either  the  bodily,  or  the 
mental  symptoms,  or  both,  may  suffice  for  the 
diagnosis.  What,  then,  are  the  so-called  classi- 
cal symptoms  of  this  disease  as  they  have  been 


HYSTERIA  303 

established  by  Charcot  and  the  French  school  of 
investigators?  We  will  briefly  pass  these  in 
review,  although,  as  we  have  previously  stated, 
they  are  open  to  certain  modifications  and  cor- 
rections. 

The  symptoms  of  hysteria  may  be  divided 
into  two  principal  groups,  physical  and  mental. 
The  former  will  be  first  discussed,  as  they  are 
somewhat  easier  of  comprehension  and  will  pave 
the  way  for  a  better  understanding  of  the  more 
complex  mental  state  of  the  disease.  It  is  the 
mental  state  of  the  hysterical,  however,  which 
is  responsible,  in  a  great  measure,  for  the  physi- 
cal symptoms.  The  most  frequent  physical 
symptom  is  hysterical  paralysis.  This  paralysis 
may  comprise  a  single  limb  or  an  entire  side  of 
the  body,  or  it  may  be  hmited  to  one  muscle  of 
the  eye,  or  to  the  vocal  cords.  When  the  eye 
muscles  are  involved  the  patient  sees  images 
double;  when  the  vocal  cords  are  involved  there 
is  produced  a  hysterical  loss  of  voice  known 
as  aphonia.  These  paralyses  usually  appear 
quickly  and  disappear  quickly,  either  spon- 
taneously or  as  a  result  of  treatment.  In 
one  of  my  cases,  that  of  a  hysterical  boy,  a 
paralysis  of  the  leg  with  complete  loss  of  sen- 
sation for  the  affected  limb  could  be  made  to 
appear,  and  to  completely  disappear,  by  means 
of  mere  waking  suggestion.     One  of  the  most 


S04       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

frequent  forms  of  hysterical  paralysis  is  that 
in  which  the  patient  is  unable  to  walk,  al- 
though the  limbs  may  be  freely  used  and  moved 
when  the  patient  is  lying  down.  This  is  known 
as  hysterical  astasia-abasia.  In  one  of  our 
cases  this  hysterical  paralysis  of  the  legs  fol- 
lowed a  dream  in  which  the  patient  thought  that 
she  was  falling  down  a  steep  hill.  In  another 
case  the  condition  developed  in  a  highly  emo- 
tional and  suggestible  woman  who  happened  to 
be  placed  in  a  bed  next  to  one  occupied  by  a 
patient  with  complete  hysterical  paralysis  of 
both  legs.  Now  these  hysterical  paralyses  only 
outwardly  resemble  the  real  organic  paralyses 
of  the  nervous  system.  In  cases  of  hysterical 
paralysis  of  the  Hmbs  there  are  no  changes  in 
the  reflexes  or  in  the  reaction  of  the  paralyzed 
muscles  to  electricity,  and  no  matter  how  long 
the  paralyses  may  persist,  no  wasting  of  the 
paralyzed  muscles  follows,  such  as  would  take 
place  in  an  organic  paralysis. 

Sometimes  a  limb  is  not  actually  paralysed 
and  yet  there  may  be  an  inability  to  move  the 
limb,  due  to  a  certain  muscular  contracture 
which  takes  place,  usually  at  the  joints.  The 
fingers,  the  hands,  the  feet,  or  even  an  entire 
limb  may  be  involved.  As  a  rule  these  con- 
tractures follow  the  pain  of  a  slight  injury,  after 
which  the  patient  feels  unable  to  move  the  limb 


HYSTERIA  305 

and  finally  becomes  possessed  with  a  fixed  idea 
that  all  active  or  spontaneous  movements  are 
impossible.  These  hysterical  spasms  may  also 
involve  the  neck  muscles,  thus  either  twisting 
the  head  or  bending  the  head  either  from  the  left 
or  right,  producing  what  is  known  as  hysterical 
wry-neck  or  torticollis.  Occasionally  the  mus- 
cular spasm  may  involve  the  diaphragm  and 
produce  disturbances  of  respiration  or  persistent 
hiccough.  An  hysterical  tremor  has  also  been 
described,  which  may  resemble  chorea  or  very 
closely  simulate  a  tremor  of  some  organic  disease 
of  the  nervous  system. 

Another  very  prominent  feature  is  the  dis- 
turbances of  sensation.  It  is  frequently  noted 
that  hysterical  patients  may  be  unable  to  feel 
a  hght  touch  or  even  a  pin-prick  in  certain  parts 
of  the  body.  That  these  sensory  disturbances 
are  not  due  to  lesions  of  any  particular  nerve, 
but  are  purely  functional  in  origin  and  nature, 
is  shown  by  the  fact  that  they  do  not  follow 
the  usual  anatomical  distribution  of  the  nerve 
trunks,  and  that  they  can  frequently  be  made 
to  disappear  by  means  of  some  form  of  sug- 
gestion. The  hysterical  sensory  disturbances 
may  involve  and  be  sharply  Umited  to  one  side 
of  the  body,  and  may  even  involve  the  mucous 
membrane  of  the  mouth  and  tongue.  This 
latter  type  forms  what  is  known  as  hysterical 


806       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

hemi-anaesthesia  and  it  is  one  of  the  most  fre- 
quent so-called  physical  stigmata  of  the  dis- 
ease. Sometimes  the  ansesthesia  may  cover  the 
hand  or  leg,  like  a  glove  or  a  stocking.  Not 
only  are  these  sensory  disturbances  not  caused 
by  a  nerve  lesion,  but  the  lack  of  sensation  is 
only  apparent  and  not  real.  This  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  the  subject  may  have  a  subcon- 
scious perception  of  the  number  of  times  the 
limb  is  touched  or  pricked,  as  in  our  case  of 
Mrs.  Y.  Sometimes  the  most  amazing  contra- 
dictions may  arise  in  the  testing  of  sensations 
of  hysterical  anaesthesia.  For  instance,  one  of 
Janet's  patients  who  was  anaesthetic  on  one  side 
of  the  body,  on  being  tested  was  requested  to 
answer  "  Yes "  when  she  felt  the  touch  and 
"  No "  when  she  did  not  feel  anything.  The 
patient  did  so  and  in  this  curious  contradiction 
we  must  not  interpret  the  matter  as  one  of 
simulation,  but  seek  deeper  for  its  psychological 
basis.  Sometimes,  also,  another  curious  dis- 
turbance of  sensation  may  take  place.  A  touch 
on  one  side  of  the  body  is  not  felt  at  that  par- 
ticular spot,  but  on  exactly  the  opposite  side  of 
the  body.  Technically  this  is  known  as  allo- 
cheiria. 

In  some  recent  investigations  on  the  psycho- 
galvanic reflex,  it  has  been  pointed  out  that 
stimulation  of  the  skin  in  areas  in  which  there 


HYSTERIA  807 

is  a  loss  of  sensation  (anaesthesia)  results  in 
only  a  slight  electrical  reaction.  In  hysterical 
anaesthesia,  however,  the  electrical  reaction  from 
stimulation  of  the  anaesthetic  area  is  as  strong 
as  though  no  loss  of  sensation  existed.  Here 
we  seem  to  have  another  experimental  proof 
that  hysterical  anaesthesia  is  not  real,  but  only 
apparent,  and  that  the  impressions  are  subcon- 
sciously perceived. 

The  special  senses  may  also  be  involved  in 
hysteria.  Disturbances  in  taste,  smell,  or  hear- 
ing may  arise;  there  may  be  complete  inabihty 
to  distinguish  sound  or  music,  or  to  tell  the  dif- 
ference in  odors  or  in  the  taste  of  food.  Some- 
times there  may  be  hallucinations  of  hearing  in 
the  deUrious  state  of  hysteria;  occasionally  there 
may  be  a  persistent  hallucination  of  smell  with 
a  cleariy  retained  consciousness,  as  in  Freud's 
famous  case  of  the  patient  who  was  troubled  by 
the  odor  of  burnt  pudding.  To  a  detailed  ac- 
count of  this  case,  which  in  a  way  has  become 
classical,  we  will  return  later. 

The  most  important  of  the  disturbances  of 
the  special  sense  in  hysteria  are  those  referable 
to  sight.  The  field  of  vision  may  be  limited 
in  all  directions,  forming  what  is  known  as  the 
concentric  limitation  of  the  visual  field.  This 
limitation  of  the  visual  field  in  hysteria  applies 
equally  well  to  all  colors,  whether  white,  red,  or 


808       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

green.  Now  the  visual  field  in  normal  individ- 
uals extends  from  about  60  to  90  degrees  in  all 
directions.  In  hysteria  this  may  be  moderately 
or  markedly  retracted  in  all  directions  down  to 
30  or  40  degrees,  or  as  in  one  case  which  recently 
came  under  observation  the  visual  field  did  not 
exceed  10  degrees.  Of  course,  in  this  case  the 
patient  was  practically  blind  in  the  affected  eye. 
Hysterical  bHndness  may  also  occur,  usually 
appearing  and  disappearing  suddenly.  In  all 
these  hysterical  disturbances  of  sight  the  optic 
nerve  is  found  to  be  absolutely  normal,  a  fact 
which  speaks  strongly  for  the  purely  functional 
nature  of  the  condition.  Hysterical  patients 
whose  visual  field  is  markedly  narrowed  will  be 
observed  to  intelligently  avoid  all  obstacles, 
which  shows  that  the  disorder  of  sight,  Uke  the 
disturbance  of  sensation,  is  not  real  but  only 
apparent.  In  fact,  subconscious  persistence  of 
vision  takes  place  in  the  same  way  as  the  sub- 
conscious persistence  of  lost  sensations  to  which 
we  have  already  referred.  This  has  been  very 
well  pointed  out  by  Janet  in  the  recent  work  on 
the  "  Major  Symptoms  of  Hysteria."    He  says: 

"  Hystericals  who  have  an  exceedingly  small  visual 
field,  run  without  in  the  least  troubling  themselves  about 
it.  This  is  a  curious  fact  to  which  I  remember  having 
attracted  the  attention  of  Charcot,  who  had  not  re- 


HYSTERIA  309 

marked  it,  and  was  very  much  surprised  at  it.  I 
showed  him  two  of  our  young  patients  playing  very 
cleverly  at  ball  in  the  court  yard  of  La  Salpetriere. 
Then  having  brought  them  before  him,  I  remarked  to 
him  that  their  visual  field  was  reduced  to  a  point,  and 
I  asked  him  whether  he  would  be  capable  of  playing  at 
ball,  if  he  had  before  each  eye  a  card  merely  pierced 
with  a  pin-hole.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  examples  that 
can  be  shown  of  the  persistence  of  subconscious  sensa- 
tions in  hysteria. 

Besides,  I  had  shortly  afterwards  the  opportunity 
of  making  a  still  more  precise  experiment  on  the  same 
point.  A  young  boy  had  violent  crises  of  terror  caused 
by  fire,  and  it  was  enough  to  show  him  a  small  fiame  for 
the  fit  to  begin  again.  Now  his  visual  field  was  re- 
duced to  five  degrees  and  he  seemed  to  see  absolutely 
nothing  outside  of  it.  I  showed  that  I  could  provoke 
his  fit  by  merely  making  him  fix  his  eyes  on  the  central 
point  of  the  perimeter  and  then  approaching  a  lighted 
match  to  the  eightieth  degree." 

As  a  rare  symptom  there  have  also  been  re- 
ported peculiar  illusions  of  vision  in  which 
objects  appear  either  abnormally  large  or  ab- 
normally small.  The  peculiar  fact  in  the  vari- 
ous disturbances  of  vision,  particularly  in  the 
narrowing  of  the  visual  field,  is  that  the  patient 
is  indifferent  to  it.  He  believes  his  vision  to  be 
normal,  in  the  same  manner  that  the  anaesthetic 
subject  believes  his  sensation  to  be  normal. 

A  group  of  other  peculiar  phenomena  may 


810       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

appear  in  hysteria,  such  as  sudden  swelling 
around  the  joints,  high  fever  without  any  ap- 
parent cause,  persistent  vomiting,  disgust  and 
distaste  for  food,  sometimes  leading  to  absolute 
refusal  of  food,  and  occasionally  bleeding  from 
the  mucous  membrane  of  the  mouth,  which  may 
resemble  a  hemorrhage  from  the  lungs. 

Another  frequent  set  of  symptoms  are  the 
various  convulsive  attacks.  These  convulsive 
attacks  strongly  resemble  genuine  epilepsy;  in 
fact,  so  strong  is  the  resemblance  that  frequently 
a  correct  diagnosis  can  be  made  only  after  pro- 
longed observation  and  study.  The  convulsions 
may  be  general  in  nature  or  hmited  to  one  limb, 
but  are  less  inco-ordinate  than  in  epilepsy.  As 
a  rule  the  attack  begins  with  a  sense  of  constric- 
tion in  the  throat  and  the  patient  has  no  memory 
for  the  attack.  Sometimes  the  memories  for  a 
period  antedating  the  attack  are  apparently 
completely  obhterated  (retrograde  amnesia). 
We  say  apparently,  for  by  proper  artificial  de- 
vices the  lost  memories  may  be  completely  re- 
stored. We  have  already  referred  to  some  of 
this  work  in  a  previous  chapter.  In  the  attack 
itself  there  may  be  a  complete  unconsciousness, 
or  the  patient  may  alternately  laugh  and  cry. 
PecuUar  attitudes  are  taken,  the  body  being 
sometimes  arched  in  half  a  circle,  the  patient 
resting  on  the  head  and  heels.     Other  motor 


HYSTERIA  811 

phenomena  are  the  attacks  of  stupor  and  of 
sleep;  occasionally  a  condition  of  catalepsy  may 
arise,  so  that  the  limbs  may  be  moulded  in  any 
position  as  though  they  were  made  of  wax. 
Sometimes  periods  of  sleep  wandering  may  take 
place,  known  as  somnambulism. 

More  important,  however,  than  the  physical 
symptoms  are  the  mental  states  of  hystericals. 
These  mental  states  are  legion.  There  may  be 
mahngering,  unstable  emotions,  loss  of  memory, 
weakness  of  will,  increased  suggestibility,  de- 
lirium or  stupor,  subconscious  acts,  fixed  ideas, 
and  finally,  severe  modifications  and  changes  in 
character,  leading  to  double  or  multiple  per- 
sonalities. Hallucinations  of  the  various  senses 
may  arise,  and  also  peculiar  dreamy  states  of 
consciousness.  The  mental  state  is  far  more  im- 
portant than  the  physical  side  of  hysteria,  but  it 
probably  has  the  same  underlying  mechanism. 

We  have  thus  very  hastily  and  in  a  very  frag- 
mentary manner  reviewed  the  principal  mental 
and  physical  symptoms  of  hysteria  as  they  have 
been  outhned  by  the  French  school.  Hysteria 
may  take  one  or  any  of  these  forms,  or  it  may 
widely  depart  from  the  usual  classical  descrip- 
tion. What,  then,  is  the  cause  of  these  multi- 
form symptoms,  how  are  they  to  be  explained, 
and  how  does  the  hysterical  mechanism  work? 
Many  theories  have  been  propounded  for  the 


312       DISEASES  OF   THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

cause  of  hysteria,  and  although  these  theories 
may  differ  in  some  minor  points,  yet  their  es- 
sential ideas  remain  the  same.  In  other  words 
we  seem  to  be  dealing  with  a  peculiar  men- 
tal state,  but  whether  this  mental  state  is  one 
of  increased  suggestibility,  or  an  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  subject  to  get  rid  of  painful  ideas 
or  of  suppressed  emotions,  the  result  seems  to 
be  the  same,  namely  a  dissociation  of  conscious- 
ness leading  to  mild  or  severe  changes  in  the 
personality.  We  shall  now  review  these  theories 
somewhat  in  detail. 

The  work  of  Janet  may  be  taken  as  a  type  of 
the  leading  theories  of  the  French  school.^ 
After  dismissing  anasthesia  and  falsehood  as  a 
necessary  accompaniment  of  hysteria  he  states 
that  the  most  fundamental  stigma  of  the  disease 
is  increased  suggestibility.  He  insists  on  the 
marked  resemblance  between  experimental  sug- 
gestion or  hypnosis  and  spontaneous  suggestion 
or  hysteria,  thus  agreeing  with  the  recent  con- 
ception of  Grasset.  Suggestion  is  the  develop- 
ment of  an  idea,  while  abstraction  is  a  form  of 
exaggerated  absent-mindedness,  and  both  exist 
to  an  astonishing  degree  in  hysteria.  The  sub- 
conscious phenomena  of  hysteria  are  the  results 
of  this  disposition  to  an  exaggerated  absent- 

» Pierre   Janet:    "The    Mental   Stote   of    Hystericals";    "The 
Major  STmptoms  of  Hysteria." 


HYSTERIA  SIS 

mindedness ;  the  mind  is  too  narrow  to  take  in  a 
number  of  ideas  at  the  same  time  and  certain 
perceptions  do  not  enter  consciousness.  To  this 
condition  Janet  applies  the  phrase  "  retraction 
of  the  field  of  consciousness."  In  ansesthesia,  it 
is  sensation  which  escapes  personal  perception; 
in  paralysis  it  is  movement;  in  amnesia  the 
storing  up  or  conservation  of  impressions  is  en- 
tirely disregarded  by  the  patient  and  hence  re- 
production of  these  impressions  is  at  fault. 
Ideas  are  very  important  factors  in  the  symp- 
toms of  hysteria.  These  ideas  are  all-powerful 
and  dominating,  and  act  upon  the  body  in  an 
abnormal  manner.  The  retraction  of  the  field 
of  consciousness  either  gives  too  much  power 
to  certain  ideas  or  certain  ideas  may  temporarily 
drop  out  of  the  field  of  conscious  perception. 
Hence,  on  the  one  hand  there  arises  the  exag- 
gerated motility  of  hysteria,  and  on  the  other 
hand,  the  peculiar  amnesia,  anaesthesia,  and 
paralyses.  Hysteria,  therefore,  according  to 
Janet's  interpretation,  is  a  disease  of  personal 
synthesis,  a  form  of  mental  depression,  char- 
acterized by  a  narrowing  of  the  field  of  personal 
consciousness  and  a  tendency  to  the  dissociation 
and  emancipation  of  the  systems  of  ideas  and 
functions  which  constitute  the  personahty.  Its 
starting  point  is  a  depression,  an  exhaustion  of 
the  higher  functions  of  the  brain.    The  dissocia- 


314       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

tion  seems  to  follow  several  laws;  it  reacts  most 
powerfully  on  a  function  that  was  weak  and  dis- 
turbed. The  most  complicated  functions  dis- 
appear first  and  that  particular  function  is  in- 
hibited which  was  in  full  activity  at  the  time  the 
emotion  or  fatigue  had  its  dissociating  effect. 
According  to  Janet  most  cases  of  alternating 
personahty  are  hysterical  in  nature.  Hysterical 
anaesthesia  is  a  certain  species  of  absent-minded- 
ness ;  the  sensation  itself  has  not  disappeared  but 
is  merely  dissociated,  that  is,  not  connected  with 
the  totality  of  consciousness.  In  the  normal 
absent-mindedness  of  everyday  life  there  is  also, 
temporarily  at  least,  a  condition  of  anaesthesia 
and  amnesia,  and  sometimes  even  increased  sug- 
gestibility and  a  decrease  of  motor  control. 
In  absent-mindedness,  too,  we  may  pay  little  or 
no  attention  to  a  pinch  or  a  pin-prick,  we  may 
assume  an  attitude  in  which  we  seem  tempo- 
rarily devoid  of  all  abiUty  to  move  the  Kmbs,  or 
we  may  perform  absurd  actions  which  can  after- 
wards be  recalled  in  memory  only  through  a 
special  device.  Thus  we  see  how  many  of  the 
phenomena  of  the  hypnotic  state  or  even  of  the 
disease  hysteria  may  be  found  in  an  abortive  and 
temporary  form  in  normal  absent-mindedness. 
In  the  hysterical  amnesias  there  is  no  real  ob- 
livion or  destruction  of  memorial  images;  it  is 
not  conservation  that  is  at  fault,  but  merely 


HYSTERIA  315 

the  impossibility  of  spontaneous  reproduction, 
yet  frequently  the  memory  may  be  restored  by 
artificial  devices.  In  hysterical  paralysis  it  is 
the  idea  of  the  motion  of  the  limb  that  is  lost  or 
dissociated  and  not  the  motion  itself.  Some- 
times this  loss  comprises  an  entire  system  of 
images  of  movement  as  in  astasia-abasia.  In 
hysterical  blindness  or  hemianopsia  there  is  no 
real  blindness,  the  visual  images  or  stimuli  being 
merely  suppressed. 

Thus  we  see  how  both  Charcot  and  Janet  laid 
great  stress  upon  a  state  of  increased  suggesti- 
bility, as  forming  one  of  the  principal  mental 
stigmata  of  hysteria.  On  this  basis  another 
French  neurologist,  Babinski,  has  recently 
brought  forth  another  theory  of  the  disease. 
He  denies  the  invariabihty  of  all  so-called  hys- 
terical stigmata,  claiming  that  they  are  all  pro- 
duced by  the  suggestion,  conscious  or  uncon- 
scious, of  the  examiner.  According  to  Babinski, 
when  great  care  is  taken  to  exclude  any  form  of 
suggestion  during  the  medical  examination,  these 
stigmata  do  not  appear.  This  view  thus  makes 
use  of  a  state  of  increased  suggestibility  as  a 
basis  for  the  production  of  an  entire  range  of 
mental  and  physical  symptoms.  Emphatically 
and  almost  dogmatically  he  affirms  that  the  com- 
mon stigmata  of  hysteria,  such  as  hmitation  of 
the  field  of  vision  and  hemi-anaesthesia,  never 


316       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

occur  in  the  patients  under  his  control,  since  he 
studiously  avoids  any  element  of  suggestion  in 
the  examination.  Hysteria  has  two  prominent 
characteristics;  first,  the  possibility  of  producing 
some  of  the  symptoms  of  the  disease  through 
suggestion,  and,  secondly,  the  effect  of  sugges- 
tion in  making  the  symptoms  of  the  disease  dis- 
appear. It  might  be  asked  pertinently,  does  he 
also  make  the  abnormal  mental  state  of  in- 
creased suggestibility  disappear,  a  mental  state 
through  which  he  claims  all  the  symptoms  are 
reproduced?  The  suggestion  theory  of  Babin- 
ski  cannot  certainly  be  accepted  without  con- 
siderable criticism  or  without  great  caution.  It 
is  true  that  no  hysterical  symptoms  develop 
without  suggestion,  either  on  the  part  of  the 
examiner  or  as  the  result  of  unconscious  auto- 
suggestion on  the  part  of  the  patient.  Babinski 
says  nothing  as  to  the  ultimate  nature  of  the 
disease.  According  to  him  hysteria  is  not 
a  pathological  state,  but  is  always  the  result  of 
a  simulation  or  of  suggestion.  What  Babinski 
has  done  is  not  to  explain  the  mechanism  of  hys- 
teria, but  to  lay  emphasis  upon  one  of  its  promi- 
nent mental  stigmata — namely,  a  state  of  in- 
creased suggestibihty,  which,  acting  from  within 
or  from  without,  can  produce  a  long  line  of 
morbid  symptoms.  Certainly  many  of  the 
most  prominent  symptoms  of  hysteria  cannot 


HYSTERIA  817 

be  explained  by  Babinski's  theory/     If  a  sub- 
ject is  so  abnormal  as  to  be  open  to  such  a  great 
degree  to  suggestions  of  paralysis  or  loss  of 
sensation,  it  must  logically  follow  such  a  sub-  i 
ject  is  in  a  diseased  mental  condition. 

Sollier'  has  given  us  a  physiological  theory 
for  tKeaisease,  in  contradistinction  to  the  usual 
psychological  interpretations.  He  claims  that 
hysteria  is  a  peculiar  going  to  sleep  of  portions 
and  at  times  of  the  whole  brain.  He  says, 
"  Hysteria  is  a  physical,  functional  disturbance 
of  the  brain,  consisting  in  a  torpor  or  sleep, 
local  or  general,  of  the  cortical  (brain)  centres, 
and  manifesting  itself,  according  to  the  centres 
affected,  by  vasomotor  or  trophic,  visceral  and 
sensory,  motor  and  psychic  disturbances,  and, 
according  to  its  variations,  its  degree  and  dura- 
tion, by  transitory  crises,  permanent  stigmata  or 
paroxysmal  accidents.  Confirmed  hysterics  are 
only  somnambulists  whose  state  of  sleep  is  more 
or  less  profound,  more  or  less  extensive."  Of 
this  physiological  theory  of  hysteria,  it  can  only 
be  said,  that  somnambulistic  episodes  are  very 
rare  in  the  disease,  and  when  they  do  occur,  it  is 
an  effect  rather  than  a  cause. 

In  America  Dr.   Morton  Prince   has  given 

•J.  Babinski:  "Ma  Conception de I'Hystdrie et de FHypnotisme.* 
Archives  Oiniral  de  Medecine,  1906. 
•Solljcr;  "Gentee  et  Nature  de  I'Hyst^rie." 


318       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

US  the  most  complete  study  of  the  hyster- 
ical mechanism,  interpreting  the  phenomena 
from  a  purely  functional  and  psychological 
standpoint.  He  applies  his  theories  to  all  forms 
of  this  protean  disease,  from  the  slight  disturb- 
ances of  sensation  to  the  classical  picture  of  the 
deeper  dissociations,  such  as  paralysis,  hemi- 
anaBsthesia,  amnesia,  and  the  changes  in  the  per- 
sonality. According  to  Dr.  Prince,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  mental  stigmata  of  hysteria  is 
the  so-called  neurasthenic  state,  which  may  be 
one  result  of  a  mental  dissociation.  He  finds 
the  same  symptom  complex  in  the  so-called 
dissociated  or  multiple  personality,  as  in  the 
disease  hysteria,  and  both  conditions  are  merely 
manifestations  of  a  dissociated  personahty.^ 
He  says,  "  The  alternation  in  mass  of  an  hys- 
terical state  with  the  normal  condition  allows  it 
to  be  seen  that  the  hysterical  symptom  com- 
plex is  not  only  a  disintegration  of  the  person- 
ahty,  but,  from  one  point  of  view,  a  phase  of 
multiple  personality.  The  changing  back  and 
forth  of  the  two  states,  with  amnesia  on  the 
part  of  one  or  the  other,  or  both,  brings  put 
the  contrast  between  the  hysteric  and  the  nor- 
mal. The  hysteric  stands  out  plainly  as  a  dif- 
ferent personality,  in  the  sense  of  a  disintegrated 

*  In  addition  to  other  publications  previously  cited,  see  "  Hysteria 
from  the  Point  of  View  of  Dissociated  Personality."— /oiimoi 
Abnormal  Psychology,  Octoiser,  1906. 


HYSTERIA  319 

personality  with  a  well-organized,  though  patho- 
logically deranged  nervous  system.  There  is  a 
doubling  of  personality,  a  normal  and  an  ab- 
normal one,  and  the  abnonnal  hysteric  is  seen 
to  be  a  phase  of  this  double  personaUty.  Before 
the  phenomenon  of  alteration  was  established, 
this  doubHng  was  obscured  by  the  gradual  tran- 
sition from  health  to  disease  and  by  the  reten- 
tion of  memory.  There  was  no  contrast. 
Nevertheless  at  this  period  the  pathological  con- 
dition was  in  every  way  identical  with  that 
which  existed  after  alteration  occurred.  The 
conclusion  to  which  our  analysis  of  the  case 
brings  us,  is  that  certain  symptom  complexes 
which  commonly  pass  under  the  name  of  hys- 
teria, with  or  without  amnesia,  are  from  another 
point  of  view  to  be  regarded  as  disintegrated  or 
multiple  personahty,  and  if  taken  in  connection 
with  the  normal  condition,  may  be  regarded  as 
a  phase  of  multiple  personality.  That  is  to 
say,  the  previous  or  later  acquired  normal  state ; 
may  be  regarded  as  one  personality,  and  the  dis- ' 
integrated  hysteric  as  another.  As  the  hysteria, 
ordinarily  developed  insidiously,  and  equally 
gradually  returns  to  health,  retaining  a  continu- 
ous memory  through  the  whole  cycle,  the  split- 
ting of  the  personality  and  the  multiple  char- 
acteristics are  disguised.  One  condition  slides 
into  the  other  so  gradually  that,  in  the  absence 


320      DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

of  any  loss  of  memory,  there  is  nothing  to  mark 
the  division  of  the  personality.  But  when,  as  is 
sometimes  the  case,  a  sudden  restoration  to 
health  is  effected,  bringing  with  it  an  amnesia 
on  the  part  of  the  hysteric  or  of  the  restored 
normal  person,  then  the  duaUty  of  personality 
becomes  plainly  recognizable."  This  identity 
of  the  hysterical  state  with  multiple  personality 
was  clearly  brought  out  by  Dr.  Prince  in  two 
carefully  studied  cases,  that  of  Miss  Beauchamp 
and  that  of  B.  C.  A. 

Miss  Beauchamp  was  a  classical  picture  of 
hysteria,  and  yet,  when  she  first  came  under 
observation,  B.  I.  was  the  only  personality  in 
existence.  This  B.  I.  had  typical  neurasthenic 
symptoms,  such  as  fatigue,  insomnia,  and  pains 
without  any  physical  basis.  These  neurasthenic 
symptoms  were  proven  to  be  merely  one  phase 
of  the  hysterical  dissociation.  When  the  other 
personalities  developed,  many  of  the  various 
hysterical  stigmata  could  be  established,  the 
weakness  of  the  will,  instability,  abnormal  sug- 
gestibility and  limitation  of  the  field  of  con- 
sciousness. When  a  relapse  occurred  after 
restoration  by  treatment  to  the  normal  healthy 
individual,  there  was  found  to  be  a  loss  of  mem- 
ory of  the  developed,  hysterical  condition  for 
the  normal  individual. 

The  case  B.  C.  A.  could  also  be  interpreted 


HYSTERIA  821 

as  one  of  hysteria.  Like  Miss  Beauchamp,  when 
first  seen  she  also  presented  the  picture  of  ordi- 
nary neurasthenia,  such  as  fatigue  and  the 
usual  physical  symptoms.  This  phase  was  de- 
scribed as  state  A.  Later  another  state,  sud- 
denly developed,  which  was  described  as  B.  A., 
had  no  memory  for  B.  but  the  latter  not  only 
possessed  a  full  knowledge  of  A.,  but  persisted 
co-consciously  when  A.  was  present.  This  lat- 
ter phenomenon  was  well  shown  by  the  psycho- 
galvanic experiments.  B.  was,  therefore,  both 
an  alternating  and  a  co-conscious  state.  Be- 
sides differences  in  memory,  both  A.  and  B. 
had  distinctly  different  characteristics.  While 
A.  was  neurasthenic,  B.  showed  a  state  of 
exaltation  and  complete  freedom  from  neuras- 
thenia. It  was  shown  after  long  study,  that 
neither  A.  nor  B.  represented  the  normal, 
complete  personality.  The  normal  state  was 
finally  obtained  in  hypnosis,  and  on  being  awak- 
ened from  hypnosis,  a  personality  was  found  to 
have  developed  which  possessed  the  combined 
memories  of  A.  and  B.,  and  was  free  from  the 
abnormal  symptoms  which  characterized  each. 
This  normal  personality  called  C.  had,  there- 
fore, split  into-the-twojabnonnal_persQDalities, 
A.  and  B.^ 

*See  "My  Life  as  a  Dissociated  Personality." — Journal  Ab' 
normal  Psychology,  VoL  III. 


'/ 


822       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

We  are  now  prepared  to  take  up  a  theory  of 
the  mechanism  of  hysteria  which  has  recently 
attracted  much  attention — namely,  the  studies 
of  Dr.  Sigmund  Fj'eud  of  Vienna.  Beginning 
with  certain  temporary  dissociations  which  take 
place  in  normal  individuals,  called  by  Freud 
the  psychopathology  of  everyday  hfe,  he  gradu- 
ally applied  his  theories  to  the  study  of  the  com- 
plex pathological  state  of  hysteria  and  found 
that  the  same  mechanism  underlay  both  condi- 
tions. In  normal  cases,  however,  this  mechanism 
was  temporary  and  isolated;  in  the  hysteric  it 
was  protracted  and  acted  upon  the  entire  mental 
physical  hfe.  In  his  studies  of  the  psycho- 
neuroses  he  claimed  that  all  hysterical  symptoms 
were  manifestations  or  expressions  of  a  wish 
fulfilment,  particularly  of  a  sexual  nature.  In 
normal  everyday  life  disagreeable  or  painful 
thoughts  are  always  forgotten;  we  intentionally, 
or  even  unconsciously  push  them  out  of  con- 
sciousness, so  as  to  free  ourselves  from  dis- 
agreeable feelings  or  pain.  This  may  be  called 
a  mental  protective  mechanism.  In  some  of 
the  ordinary  dreams  of  everyday  hfe,  its  pur- 
poseless actions  or  its  absent-minded  acts,  its 
forgetting  of  names  and  places,  slips  of  the 
tongue,  or  mistakes  in  writing  remain  temporary 
because  we  are  able  to  crowd  out  these  dis- 
agreeable feelings  or  ideas  at  will.     Sometimes, 

\ 


HYSTERIA  328 

however,  a  disagreeable  incident  remains  in  our 
unconscious  memory,  forming  what  Freud  calls 
a  complex.  Then,  because  we  have  no  control 
over  it,  this  complex  acts  in  a  pathological 
manner.  It  cannot  run  its  normal  course  and, 
therefore,  becomes  converted  or  changed  into  the 
condition  which  we  designate  as  hysteria.  The 
method  of  digging  out  this  buried  complex  and 
bringing  it  to  light  or  consciousness  and,  there- 
fore, to  conscious  control,  is  called  psycho- 
analysis. Now  this  psycho-analysis  may  be  per- 
formed in  a  number  of  ways  as  has  already  been 
indicated. 

An  abstract  of  the  analysis  of  one  of  Freud's 
cases  will  make  this  clear.  The  patient,  a  gov- 
erness, was  sent  to  Freud,  because  she  was 
troubled  by  the  persistent  hallucination  of  the 
smell  of  burnt  pudding.  When  the  patient  was 
placed  in  abstraction  (here  abstraction  was 
the  device  used  for  psycho-analysis)  and  she 
was  asked  to  recall  the  occasion  on  which  she 
first  was  troubled  by  the  odor,  she  gave  the 
following  account,  "  It  was  about  two  months 
ago,  two  days  before  my  birthday.  I  was 
with  the  children  in  the  schoolroom  and  was 
playing  with  them  at  cooking,  when  a  letter 
was  brought  in,  which  had  just  been  left  by 
the  postman.  I  knew  from  the  postmark  and 
handwriting  that  it  was  from  my  mother,  and 


\ 


324       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

was  about  to  open  and  read  it  when  the  chil- 
dren rushed  at  me  and  tore  the  letter  from  my 
hand,  saying,  '  No,  you  mustn't  read  it  now,  it's 
sure  to  be  a  congratulatory  letter  for  your 
birthday,  we'll  take  it  away  from  you.'  While 
they  were  playing  about  me  a  strong  odor 
suddenly  spread  through  the  room.  The  chil- 
dren had  left  the  pudding  which  they  were 
cooking,  and  it  was  burnt.  Ever  since  the  smell 
has  pursued  me."  Further  examination,  how- 
ever, revealed  the  fact  that  the  patient  had  occa- 
sionally secretly  cherished  the  hope  of  taking  the 
place  of  the  children's  mother,  and  it  was  only 
with  great  difficulty  that  she  was  able  to  get  rid 
of  this  idea.  The  psychical  excitement,  the 
birthday,  and  the  sexual  emotion  had  become 
symbolized,  converted  into  the  hallucination 
of  smell.  Here  we  see  how,  at  the  bottom, 
the  sexual  element,  or  rather  the  sexual 
repression  was  a  controlling  factor  in  this 
process. 

It  could  be  shown,  that  the  forgetting  of 
events  which  were  brought  out  only  by  analysis 
was  intentional  and  desired.  Concerning  the 
peculiar  site  of  the  hallucinations  in  this  case, 
Freud  states,  "  It  is  quite  unusual  to  select  sen- 
sations of  smell  as  memory  symbols  of  traumas, 
but  it  is  quite  obvious  why  these  were  here 
selected.    The  patient  was  afflicted  with  a  pur- 


HYSTERIA  S25 

ulent  rhinitis,  hence  the  nose  and  its  perceptions 
were  in  the  foreground  of  her  attention." 

Painful  experiences,  usually  having  a  sexual 
coloring,  which  may  or  may  not  be  accompanied 
by  a  physical  expression,  may  occur.  The  im- 
print or  experience  may  fade  out  of  conscious- 
ness, but  the  symbolic  emotion  which  first  at- 
tended it  remains  and  continues  to  recur.  For 
this  to  take  place  Freud  postulates  at  the  time 
of  the  original  emotion,  that  the  patient  was  in 
a  state  of  abstraction  called  by  him  an  hyp- 
noidal  condition.  He  works  out  his  principles 
and  theories  with  great  detail  and  with  con- 
summate literary  skill.  These  repressed  emo- 
tions are  the  mischief-makers  at  the  bottom  of 
all  hysteria.  If  they  are  given  an  opportunity 
to  complete  themselves,  if  the  patient  in  a  state 
of  relaxation  and  passivity  (abstraction)  is 
asked  to  talk  out  these  painful  experiences,  to 
bring  them  vividly  before  his  mind,  they  "  cease 
from  troubling  "  and  a  decided  therapeutic  ef- 
fect is  the  result.  It  is  the  unconscious  experi- 
ences, the  experiences  which  we  cannot  recall,  of 
which  we  are  unaware,  that  cause  the  trouble. 
By  certain  technical  devices  we  may  become 
aware  of  them,  showing  that  they  were  disso- 
ciated, preserved  in  the  subconscious  mental  life. 

According  to  Freud,  there  are  several  distinct 
types  of  hysteria,  which  he  designates  as  defence 


326       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

hysteria,  hypnoid  hysteria,  conversion  hysteria, 
anxiety  hysteria,  and  retention  hysteria.  He 
criticises  Janet's  theory  that  a  sphtting  of  con- 
sciousness is  the  primary  feature  of  the  hysteri- 
cal alteration,  and  yet  is  forced  to  admit  that 
this  splitting  exists  in  a  rudimentary  form  in 
every  hysterical  case.  Freud  defines  the  de- 
fence hysterias  as  those  types  of  cases  in  which 
the  splitting  of  consciousness  was  an  uncon- 
scious arbitrary  act  on  the  part  of  the  subject. 
The  subject  sought  to  banish  a  painful  emotion 
or  experience  from  his  mind.  In  the  hypnoid 
hysteria  there  is  a  dreamy  state  of  conscious- 
ness, in  which  the  abnormal  ideas  are  isolated 
from  communication  with  the  rest  of  conscious- 
ness. In  the  retention  hysterias,  as  he  was  able 
to  demonstrate  by  the  psycho-analysis  of  intelli- 
gent patients,  the  splitting  of  consciousness 
plays  an  insignificant  part,  perhaps  no  part  at 
all.  The  hysterical  symptoms  in  these  cases 
arise  as  the  result  of  an  absence  of  reaction  to  a 
painful  experience,  usually  of  a  sexual  nature. 
In  the  conversion  hysterias  there  is  a  replace- 
ment of  a  mental  by  a  physical  manifestation, 
for  instance,  either  the  hysterical  paralysis  of 
a  limb  or  an  hysterical  loss  of  voice.  The 
anxiety  hysterias  or  the  phobias  are  character- 
ized by  attacks  of  fear  in  certain  situations,  such 
as  in  open  or  closed  places.     The  attacks  of 


HYSTERIA  827 

fear  are  protective  mechanisms  to  prevent  an 
attack  of  anxiety.  For  instance,  an  individual 
with  a  fear  of  closed  places  will  avoid  these 
places  and  therefore  the  fear  acts  as  a  preventive 
of  an  anxiety  attack.  Many  of  the  same  mech- 
anisms of  unconscious  repression,  censorship, 
and  wish  fulfillment  as  occur  in  dreams,  are  at 
work  in  the  production  of  hysteria.  Therefore, 
many  of  the  symptoms  of  hysteria,  on  careful 
analysis,  can  be  shown  to  be  a  symbolized  wish 
fulfillment. 

A  few  quotations  from  Freud's  original  con- 
tributions will  make  his  complex  theories  more 
intelligible : 

"  Nevertheless,  the  causal  connection  between  the 
provoking  psychic  trauma  and  the  hysterical  phenom- 
enon does  not  perhaps  resemble  the  trauma  which,  as 
the  provoking  agent,  would  call  forth  the  symptom 
which  would  become  independent  and  continue  to  exist. 
We  have  to  claim  still  more,  namely,  that  the  psychic 
trauma  or  the  memory  of  the  same  acts  like  a  foreign 
body  which  even  long  after  its  penetration  must  con- 
tinue to  influence  like  a  new  causation  factor.  We 
found,  at  first  to  our  greatest  surprise,  that  the 
individual  hysterical  symptoms  immediately  disap- 
peared without  returning  if  we  succeeded  in  thoroughly 
awakening  the  memories  of  the  causal  process  with  its 
accompanying  emotion  and  if  the  patient  circumstan- 
tially discussed  the  process,  giving  free  play  to  the 


328        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

emotions.  Emotionless  memories  are  almost  utterly 
useless.  Those  memories  which  become  the  cause  of 
hysterical  phenomena  have  been  preserved  for  a  long 
time  with  wonderful  freshness  and  with  their  perfect 
emotional  tone.  As  a  further  striking  and  later  realiz- 
able fact  we  have  to  mention  that  the  patients  do  not 
perhaps  have  the  same  control  of  these  as  of  their  other 
memories  of  life.  On  the  contrary  these  experiences 
are  either  completely  lacking  from  the  memory  of  the 
patients  in  their  normal  psychic  state  or  at  most  exist 
greatly  abridged.  .  .  .  The  splitting  of  conscious- 
ness, so  striking  in  the  familiar  classical  cases  of  double 
consciousness,  exists  rudimentarily  in  every  hysteria, 
and  the  tendency  towards  the  appearance  of  abnormal 
states  of  consciousness  which  we  comprehend  as  *  hyp- 
noid  states,'  is  the  chief  phenomenon  of  this  neurosis." 
(Psychic  Mechanism  of  Hysterical  Phenomena.) 

In  a  later  contribution  Freud  claims  that  the 
voluntary  incursions  of  daydreams  into  con- 
sciousness, or  in  other  words,  the  fantastic 
reveries  of  youth,  are  the  normal,  psychical 
prototypes  of  hysterical  symptoms: 

"  The  hysterical  symptoms  are  nothing  other  than  un- 
conscious fancies  brought  to  light  by  conversions.  .  .  . 
The  technic  of  psycho-analysis  gives  the  means  of 
finding  out  for  the  symptoms  the  unconscious  fancies 
and  then  of  bringing  them  back  to  the  patient's  con- 
sciousness. (Hysterical  Fancies.)  Therefore,  the 
hysterical's  symptoms  may  be  a  memory  symbol  of  cer- 


HYSTEBIA  829 

tain  experiences,  the  expression  of  a  wish  realization 
or  the  realization  of  an  unconscious  fancy  serving  as  a 
wish  fulfillment." 

Considerable  stress  is  laid  upon  the  fact  that 
many  hysterical  symptoms  represent  a  portion 
of  the  sexual  experiences  of  the  individual/ 

Such  is  a  brief  account  of  Freud's  dynamic 
theory  of  hysteria.  For  more  detailed  study, 
the  reader  is  referred  to  the  original  publica- 
tions.^ It  will  be  seen  that  the  modern  tendency 
is  to  disregard  the  usual  classical  physical  symp- 
toms of  hysteria  as  necessary  for  a  diagnosis 
and  to  interpret  certain  types  of  mental  disso- 
ciation as  an  hysterical  complex.  Sometimes 
the  condition  acts  on  the  whole  organism;  at 
others,  a  few  isolated  symptoms  may  be  the  only 
manifestations  of  the  dissociation,  such  as  a  loss 
of  sensation  limited  to  a  portion  of  one  limb. 
In  either  case,  the  underlying  mechanism  is  very 
complex.  It  is  certainly  a  step  in  the  right 
direction  to  lay  more  stress  on  the  mental  state 
of  hystericals  than  on  the  time-honored,  so- 
called  physical  stigmata.  It  seems,  therefore, 
that,  according  to  Janet,  any  sudden  emotion 
may  cause  hysteria  while,  according  to  Freud, 

'  The  quotations  from  Freud  are  taken  from  a  translation  of 
some  of  his  work  by  Dr.  A.  A.  Brill.  ("  Selected  Papers  <» 
Hysteria  and  other  Psycho-Neuroses,"  1909.) 

*  See  chapter  on  the  "  Analysis  of  the  Mental  Life,"  where  a 
more  detailed   account   of  psycho-analysis  may  be   found. 


SSO       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

only  those  emotions  or  ideas  cause  hysteria 
which  are  painful,  and  which  the  subject  has 
difficulty  in  expelling.  Evidently  any  emotion, 
if  severe  enough,  can  have  a  selective  action 
in  causing  a  mental  dissociation. 

Let  us  follow  the  ramifications  of  two  cases 
of  hysteria,  one  with  the  symptoms  in  full 
bloom, — the  other,  what  we  may  call  abortive 
hysteria,  or  hysteria  in  the  making,  in  which 
the  neurasthenic  complex  was  the  predominat- 
ing symptom,  until  the  searchlight  of  psycho- 
analysis revealed  what  lay  at  the  bottom  of  the 
hysterical  disturbance. 

In  some  of  the  previous  chapters  we  have 
already  seen  different  types  of  hysterical  cases, 
such  as  sudden  losses  of  memory  associated  with 
a  wandering  impulse,  what  is  called  a  hysterical 
fugue,  and  later  restoration  of  these  lost  mem- 
ories by  means  of  certain  technical  devices;  a 
case  showing  multiple  hypnotic  personalities, 
and  a  hysterical  paralysis  and  loss  of  sensation; 
another  case  of  hysteria  with  a  localized  anaes- 
thesia and  weakness  of  the  arms  occurring  after 
the  emotional  shock  of  a  funeral,  and  analyzed 
by  means  of  the  association  tests;  and  finally 
the  case  of  a  young  woman  in  whom  the  various 
devices  of  psycho-analysis  were  able  to  bring 
to  light  the  cause  of  her  hysterical  attacks  and 
finally  to  effect  a  cure.    So  we  see  that  the  dis- 


HYSTERIA  »81 

ease  hysteria  is  not  confined  to  any  one  type 
or  to  the  classical  description.  In  fact  we  may 
have  all  forms  of  hysteria,  from  the  slightest 
disturbance  of  sensation  and  motion  to  com- 
plete changes  in  the  personality.  It  seems  best, 
therefore,  to  speak  of  the  hysterias  rather  than 
of  hysteria. 

A  subject  of  great  interest  and  importance 
is  the  evolution  of  hysteria,  its  study  in  the 
earliest  stages,  or  what  may  be  called  hysteria 
in  the  making.  At  the  very  outset  of  the  dis- 
ease, Janet  found  that  his  subjects  were  free 
from  any  anaesthesia.  He  established,  however, 
a  remarkable  indifference  and  absent-minded- 
ness to  all  the  phenomena  of  sensibility.  This 
absent-mindedness  to  sensations  was  interpreted 
as  a  phenomenon  which  precedes  anaesthesia. 

The  best  examples  of  hysteria  in  the  making 
are  found  among  primitive  races  and  in  the 
hysteria  of  children.  In  savages  the  processes 
of  thought  are  simple,  and  hence  their  hyster- 
ical symptoms  are  simple,  the  same  as  in  the 
hysteria  of  children,  in  whom  the  objective 
manifestations  are  principally  mono-sympto- 
matie.  There  is  a  certain  resemblance  likewise 
between  the  mental  life  of  the  savage  and 
the  neurotic,  for  instance  in  the  relationship 
of  the  taboo  and  neurotic  obsession  or  obses- 
sional prohibition,  a  comparative  feature  which 


389       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

is  best  seen  in  the  fear  of  touching  certain 
objects  (delire  de  toucher).  Suppression  is 
the  result  of  our  complex  civilization.  Savages, 
like  children,  have  not  learned  to  suppress,  and 
as  the  dreams  of  children  are  perfectly  trans- 
parent and  show  little  or  no  symbolism  or  effort 
at  concealment,  so  in  the  savage  the  hysterical 
attacks  are  primitive  emotional  reactions  follow- 
ing almost  immediately  upon  the  emotional  in- 
jury. In  other  words,  there  is  a  complete 
absence  of  suppression  and  unconscious  incuba- 
tion. Their  hysterical  attacks  are  merely  sud- 
den outbreaks  with  little  or  no  conversion  of 
unconscious  mental  states  into  physical  symp- 
toms. These  primitive  emotional  reactions 
occur  in  the  disease  called  piblokto  of  the 
Eskimos  or  in  the  latah  or  amok  of  the  Malays. 
In  children,  too,  the  hysterical  attacks  or  symp- 
toms are  simple  conversions  of  their  repressed 
wishes. 

Sometimes  in  the  very  earlier  stages  of  hys- 
teria the  only  symptoms  are  those  of  a  state  of 
neurasthenic  depression.  The  neurasthenic  de- 
pression may  be  a  newly  developed  personality, 
or  it  may  be  the  result  of  an  effort  to  banish  a 
painful  experience  from  consciousness.  An  ex- 
ample of  this  latter  condition  I  once  had  the 
opportunity  to  observe.  It  related  to  the  case 
of  a  young  woman,  a  school-teacher,  who  some 


HYSTERIA  385 

weeks  after  her  return  from  her  summer  vaca- 
tion suddenly  stopped  teaching.  She  became 
depressed,  claimed  that  she  was  not  equal  to 
the  work,  everything  seemed  dreamlike  to  her, 
there  was  a  marked  sense  of  fatigue,  and  her 
head  ached  and  felt  heavy.  Sleep  was  poor  and 
broken  by  dreams  of  her  school  work.  She  be- 
came seclusive,  anti-social,  unable  to  concentrate 
her  mind,  and  claimed  that  her  thoughts  were 
scattered  and  wandering.  Literature  with  which 
she  was  formerly  well  acquainted  now  seemed 
strange  and  unreal  to  her  as  if  she  had  read  it 
for  the  first  time.  None  of  the  so-called  physical 
stigmata  of  hysteria  were  present.  Psycho- 
analysis, however,  brought  out  the  fact  that  dur- 
ing her  vacation  period  a  certain  affair  had  taken 
place.  Certain  experiences  in  this  aif air  finally 
led  to  the  whole  matter  becoming  painful  and 
distasteful  to  her.  On  her  return  to  work  the 
effort  to  banish  these  experiences  from  con- 
sciousness led  to  the  symptoms  already  detailed. 
If  we  interpret  this  case  from  Freud's  stand- 
point, it  would  seem  as  if  the  mechanism  in- 
volved in  the  effort  to  put  a  painful  experience 
out  of  mind  had  led  to  a  state  of  mental  disso- 
ciation, which  in  this  case  took  the  form  of  hys- 
teria. It  is  true  that  the  condition  here  de- 
scribed did  not  conform  with  the  usual  descrip- 
tion of  the  disease,  but  we  have  already  pointed 


S84        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

out  how  wide  is  the  conception  of  hysteria,  and 
how  many  forms  the  disease  may  take. 

So  important  is  the  subject  that  even  at  the 
risk  of  repetition  we  will  report  another  case 
of  hysteria.  This  case  will  show  how  an  emo- 
tional disturbance  finally  acquired  a  separate 
and  independent  activity  and  how  it  led  to 
a  dissociation,  manifesting  itself  by  losses  of 
memory,  disturbances  of  sensation,  and  narrow- 
ing of  the  field  of  vision.  Finally  typical  hys- 
terical attacks  developed  through  mere  associa- 
tion. The  case  showed  that  hysterical  anaesthesia 
was  not  real  anaesthesia,  that  hysterical  losses  of 
memory  were  not  real  losses  of  memory,  and 
that  the  basis  of  the  condition  was  an  emo- 
tional experience  which  became  dissociated  from 
consciousness  and  took  on  an  independent  and 
automatic  activity.  A  young  woman  had  suf- 
fered for  two  years  from  the  following  at- 
tacks, which  were  sometimes  repeated  several 
times  a  week.  The  attacks  began  with  severe 
headaches,  then  she  would  commence  to  scream, 
at  times  violently  striking  at  those  about  her 
or  breaking  objects.  There  was  no  memory 
of  these  attacks,  the  amnesic  period  sometimes 
comprising  several  hours.  On  one  or  two  oc- 
casions she  had  a  typical  fugue,  would  wander 
through  the  streets  for  several  hours  at  a 
time,  and  then  would  suddenly  come  to  her- 


HYSTERIA  8S5. 

self  without  any  memory  for  the  period  of 
wandering.  Examination  showed  complete  loss 
of  sensation  over  the  entire  right  side  of  the 
body  involving  the  tongue  and  mouth,  a  limita- 
tion of  the  vision  to  35  degrees  in  all  directions, 
loss  of  taste  and  smell  in  the  right  nostril  and 
on  the  right  side  of  the  tongue,  and  a  diminu- 
tion of  hearing  on  the  right.  During  one  of 
the  attacks  of  excitement  she  was  very  violent 
to  several  members  of  the  household ;  on  another 
occasion  she  attempted  suicide  by  drinking  car- 
bolic acid,  on  still  another  occasion  an  attack 
followed  attendance  at  a  wedding.  The  patient 
was  easily  hypnotized  and  had  complete  am- 
nesia for  the  hypnotic  state.  In  hypnosis  the 
anaesthesia  disappeared  spontaneously,  to  re- 
turn again  when  the  patient  was  awakened.  In 
her  waking  condition  she  could  not  explain  the 
attacks  nor  account  for  their  origin.  In  hyp- 
nosis, however,  she  stated  that  two  years  previ- 
ously, shortly  before  her  sister's  wedding  she 
was  awakened  from  a  sound  sleep  one  midnight, 
by  the  voices  of  her  two  sisters  quarrelling  in 
the  next  room.  As  this  was  an  unusual  circum- 
stance in  her  household  she  immediately  went 
into  a  state  of  great  fear  and  trembling  and 
was  unable  to  sleep  the  remainder  of  the  night. 
Three  days  later  she  had  her  first  attack  of 
screaming  and  violence.     One  of  the  later  at- 


386       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

tacks  at  a  wedding  can  easily  be  explained  on 
the  basis  of  associating  her  first  attack  with  her 
sister's  wedding.  Furthermore,  both  in  hyp- 
nosis and  in  states  of  experimental  distraction 
I  was  able  to  completely  restore  the  lost  mem- 
ories, although  the  experiences  were  revived  in  a 
rather  fragmentary  manner.  This  fragmentary 
return  of  the  dissociated  experiences  is  well 
indicated  in  the  isolated  synthesis  as  follows, 
"  All  that  came  to  my  mind,  is — that  I'd  like 
to  go  away."  (The  patient  frequently  repeated 
this  latter  phrase  in  the  attacks.)  "  Two  weeks 
ago  I  had  a  dream,  in  which  I  thought  that  I 
would  like  to  kill  my  father  and  mother." 
(In  her  last  attack  she  actually  did  refuse 
to  allow  her  father  and  mother  to  enter  the 
room  and  spoke  of  killing  them.)  "  I  re- 
member I  had  a  big  bottle  of  carbolic  acid  and 
drank  some,  and  a  smooth-faced  doctor  came 
in  and  gave  me  something  to  drink  and  put 
hot  water  to  my  feet"  (correct).  "I  know 
how  I  broke  the  plate  now.  The  plate  was 
standing  on  the  stove  and  I  broke  it  with  my 
left  hand  "   (correct) .' 

In  the  treatment  of  hysteria,  two  things  must 
be  taken  into  consideration.    Fi^st*  *^^  tendency 

*  For  a  more  detailed  account  of  the  conservation  of  memories 
In  hysterical  amnesia  see  "  The  Mechanism  of  Amnesia." — Journal 
of  Abnormal  Ptychology,  Vol.  IV,  No.  1,  1909. 


HYSTERIA  837 

to  increased  suggestibility  and  emotionalism 
should  be  combated;  second,  an  attempt  should 
be  made  to  unify  the  split  states  of  conscious- 
ness. Re-education  of  the  emotions  is  of  great 
importance,  but  whether  this  re-education  should 
be  accomplished  by  isolation,  persuasion,  the 
personality  of  the  physician,  or  ignoring  of 
symptoms  or  psycho-analysis  is  merely  a  matter 
of  individual  technic.  The  individual  symp- 
toms such  as  the  paralysis,  anaesthesia,  convul- 
sions, contractures,  pains,  tremors,  require  ap- 
propriate treatment,  particularly  electricity, 
massage,  and  special  baths.  The  psychic  treat- 
ment of  hysteria,  which  may  be  carried  out  by 
any  of  the  modern  psychotherapeutic  methods, 
requires  training  and  skill.  Any  element  of  ab- 
normal suggestion  must  be  carefully  avoided, 
otherwise  the  ends  of  treatment  might  be  de- 
feated, by  unconsciously  substituting  a  new  hys- 
terical symptom  for  one  which  has  disappeared. 
Some  hysterical  cases  require  psycho-analysis; 
in  others,  isolation  is  indicated;  in  still  others, 
purely  physical  therapy  is  called  for.  There  isi 
no  one  line  of  treatment  for  the  disease.  The 
treatment  must  be  modified  according  to  the 
cause  of  the  disease,  its  evolution,  its  particular 
symptoms,  by  the  social  condition  and  age  of 
the  patient,  and  finally,  by  the  patient's  per- 
sonality. ^ 


338        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

The  psycho-analytic  treatment  of  hysteria 
represents  the  latest  advance  in  the  efficient 
therapeutics  of  the  disease.  Through  this 
method,  the  unconscious  mental  processes  which 
produced  the  hysterical  symptoms  are  uncov- 
ered, and  thus  the  resistance  which  prevented  the 
unconscious  thoughts  from  entering  conscious- 
ness, is  broken  down.  The  pent-up  emotions 
thus  become  discharged,  are  diverted  into  useful 
channels  instead  of  into  pathological  symptoms 
and  thus  lose  their  intensity  and  baneful  in- 
fluence. The  unconscious  complexes  are  brought 
under  the  influence  of  the  mind,  whereas  pre- 
viously they  were  inaccessible  and  led  an  inde- 
pendent automatic  existence.  The  dissociated 
elements  thus  become  reassociated  and  con- 
scious, and  the  hysterical  symptoms,  which  were 
caused  by  a  deflection  of  these  dissociated  ele- 
\  ments,  tend  to  disappear. 


CHAPTER  VI 


PSYCHASTHENIA 


For  a  number  of  years  it  had  been  observed 
that  states  of  pathological  fear  or  anxiety,  ob- 
sessions, and  fixed  ideas,  were  associated  with  a 
peculiar  mental  state.^  These  various  symptoms 
were  formerly  thought  to  be  a  part  of  neuras- 
thenia, and  hence  arose  such  phrases  as  neuras- 
thenia with  fixed  ideas,  neurasthenia  with  fear, 
etc.  In  1903,  however,  Janet  ^  attempted  to 
show  that  these  multiform  symptoms  were  part 
of  a  distinct  nervous  disease,  which  he  termed 
psychasthenia.  This  psychasthenic  neurosis, 
while  in  many  cases  it  bore  some  resemblance 
to  neurasthenia,  hysteria,  and  epilepsy,  yet  had 
many  symptoms  which  occurred  in  it  alone  and 
enabled  it  to  be  clearly  recognized.  These 
symptoms  were  partly  mental  and  partly  phys- 
ical. They  will  be  described  in  the  course  of 
this  chapter  and  may  be  thus  enumerated: 

1.  Obsessions  of  various  kinds,  such  as  obses- 
sions of  sacrilege,  crime,  disgrace  of  self  and 
body,  and  hypochondriacal  obsessions. 

*  Pierre   Janet:   "Les   Obsessions   et   la   Psychasthdnie,"    1903. 


840       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

2.  The  various  mental  agitations,  such  as 
manias  of  interrogation,  doubt,  precision,  pre- 
caution, repetition,  conjuration,  and  arithmet- 
ical manias. 

3.  Motor  agitations  or  tics. 

4.  Emotional  agitations,  which  comprised  the 
various  phobias  or  fears,  such  as  phobias  of  ob- 
jects (d^lire  du  contact),  phobias  of  situation 
(agoraphobia  or  fear  of  open  places,  and  claus- 
trophobia or  fear  of  closed  places),  and  the 
states  of  anxiety.  Like  hysteria,  which  has  so 
many  so-called  physical  and  mental  stigmata, 
various  stigmata  were  likewise  found  in  the 
psychasthenic  state  and  served  to  distinguish  it 
from  hysteria.  These  stigmata  are  the  feelings 
of  incompleteness  in  action,  in  all  intellectual 
problems,  in  the  emotional  sphere,  and  in  per- 
sonal perception.  Under  the  latter  are  grouped 
the  strange  feelings  of  unreaUty  and  of  deper- 
sonalization, called  by  Janet  psycholeptic  crises. 
Other  stigmata  of  psychasthenia  are  disorders  of 
the  will,  of  the  intelligence,  and  of  the  emotions. 
Many  psychasthenic  states  also  present  physical 
symptoms  such  as  headache,  digestive  and  cir- 
culatory disturbances,  sleeplessness,  and  exhaus- 
tion. 

Psychasthenia  has  also,  by  the  German 
school,  been  termed  a  compulsion  neurosis,  be- 
cause the  mental  processes  of  the  disease  are 


PSYCHASTHENIA  841 

associated  with  a  feeling  of  compulsion.  The 
mechanism  of  the  compulsion  is  very  complex 
and  it  will  suffice  to  state  here  that  psycho- 
analytic investigations  have  shown  that  the  com- 
pulsion represents  a  transformed  self-reproach 
from  childhood.  This  reproach  is  buried  in  the 
unconscious  and  its  disguised  form  in  the  con- 
sciousness and  actions  of  the  individual,  con- 
stitutes the  compulsive  act,  which  is,  in/ some 
cases,  merely  an  overcompensation  for  the 
unconscious  reproach.  Likewise  according  to 
psycho-analytic  investigations,  the  states  of  fear 
are  termed  either  anxiety  neurosis  or  anxiety 
hysteria.^ 

A  detailed  account  of  a  psychasthenic  case 
will  make  the  condition  more  comprehensible. 
This  case  is  taken  because  it  presents  in  a  fairly 
typical  form  the  headache,  gastric  symptoms, 
tics,  phobias,  depression,  lack  of  energy,  and 
feeling  of  unreality,  which  occur  in  so  many 
psychasthenic  states.  The  patient  was  a  young 
man  whose  mother  had  been  a  neurasthenic 
and  suffered  from  sleeplessness  for  years,  and 
whose  sister  had  nervous  dyspepsia.  (Neuro- 
pathic heredity.)  As  a  boy  he  stammered 
badly,    suffered    from    severe    one-sided    head- 

^  The  anxiety  neuroses  will  be  discussed  in  the  chapter  on 
neurasthenia.  The  anxiety  hysterias  have  already  been  described 
in  the  chapter  on  hysteria. 


342        DISEASES  OF  THE  3UBC0NSCI0US 

ache  (migraine),  and  on  one  occasion,  lasting 
for  nearly  two  years,  there  was  twitching  of 
the  face  and  the  eyelids  (tics).  tLver  since 
reaching  adult  life,  certain  words  could  be 
pronounced  only  with  great  difficulty,  and 
synonyms  were  often  substituted  (stammering 
as  a  form  of  mental  tic) .  Whenever  he  becomes 
excited,  there  arises  a  feeling  of  distress  in  the 
stomach  (unstable  emotional  state).  For  a 
number  of  years  there  has  been  a  feeling  of 
mental  depression  associated  with  digestive  dis- 
turbances, and  although  the  stomach  contents 
have  been  repeatedly  examined,  they  have  been 
found  normal.  When  he  was  about  fourteen 
years  old,  he  remembers  having  had  an  attack 
of  unreality,  which  lasted  about  twenty  min- 
utes. Two  years  before  he  came  under  obser- 
vation he  was  sitting  in  a  theatre  one  evening, 
when  suddenly  a  feeling  of  faintness  took  pos- 
session of  him.  This  lasted  three  or  four  min- 
utes, but  he  did  not  lose  consciousness.  Within 
a  month  this  feeling  recurred  three  or  four 
times,  usually  in  church,  theatre,  or  a  public 
place,  and  he  felt  that  if  he  did  faint,  it  would 
be  exceedingly  embarrassing  for  him.  As  a 
result,  he  developed  a  fear  of  crowds  and  closed 
places  (claustrophobia)  and  has  almost  entirely 
avoided  any  public  gathering.  Sometimes  the 
head  feels  dazed,  and  he  is  depressed  and  fa- 


PSYCHASTHENIA  343 

tigiied  a  great  deal  of  the  time.  Occasionally  he 
is  subject  to  peculiar  nervous  crises  with  a  sense 
of  unreality.  A  vague  fear  will  take  possession 
of  him,  then  headache,  eructations  of  gas  from 
the  stomach,  then  suddenly  for  a  brief  period, 
objects  about  him  appear  as  if  in  a  haze,  dim, 
small,  far  away,  "  as  if  I  am  looking  through 
the  wrong  end  of  an  opera  glass."  (Psycho- 
epileptic  crisis.) 

These  psychasthenic  conditions,  which  seem 
to  be  related  on  one  hand  to  hysteria  and  neuras- 
thenia, and  on  the  other  to  epilepsy,  are  of  great 
clinical  and  psychological  interest.  There  is  but 
little  doubt,  however,  that  psychasthenia  forms 
a  cHnical  entity,  for  the  disease  picture  has 
sjTnptoms  which  occur  in  no  other  functional 
neurosis,  at  least  in  such  fully  developed  and 
intense  forms.  This  psychasthenic  neurosis  is  a 
very  complex  mental  state  and  comprises  the 
entire  range  of  obsessions,  impulses,  mental 
manias,  tics,  agitations,  phobias,  states  of  anx- 
iety, feelings  of  inadequacy,  and  the  peculiar 
feelings  of  strangeness,  unreality,  and  deperson- 
alization. According  to  Janet,  these  multiple 
phenomena  are  the  result  of  what  he  called  a 
lowering  of  the  psychological  tension,  just  as 
hysteria  was  to  him  a  narrowing  of  the  field  of 
consciousness.  Some  of  the  German  writers, 
in  particular  Freud,  interpret  the  condition  on 


844        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

a  purely  sexual  basis  and  look  upon  the  obses- 
sions, fixed  ideas,  and  phobias  as  the  result  of 
the  substitution  or  reproach  for  certain  sup- 
pressed sexual  ideas  and  emotions.  An  effort 
to  keep  this  sexual  complex  or  reproach  in  the 
background  of  consciousness  causes  various  ab- 
normal ideas  and  fears  to  appear  in  its  place. 

Now  according  to  Janet,  any  variations  or 
disturbances  in  what  he  calls  the  psychological 
tension,  or  the  normal  mental  level,  that  effort 
of  complex  mental  synthesis,  can  lead  to  a 
psychasthenic  state.  In  many  psychasthenic 
cases  a  state  of  mental  dissociation  follows  on 
this  interference  with  the  psychological  tension. 
The  peculiar  feelings  of  unreality  and  deper- 
sonalization, during  a  portion  or  the  whole  of 
the  disease,  are  an  evidence  of  this  mental  dis- 
sociation. These  changes  in  personality  in 
psychasthenia  are,  however,  incomplete,  in  con- 
tradistinction to  the  hysterical  dissociations, 
where  they  are  often  total  in  their  character. 
One  psychasthenic  patient  offered  a  very  clear 
example  of  this  incomplete  mental  dissociation. 
In  one  of  the  states  she  felt  as  if  she  were  "  a 
bloodless  nothing,"  a  sense  of  tension,  every- 
thing seemed  out  of  harmony,  she  experienced 
darting  pains  all  over  the  body  and  had  diffi- 
culty in  breathing.  "  I  feel  as  if  I  were  going 
to  pieces.     My  neck  is  brittle,  I  feel  as  if  I 


PSYCHASTHENIA  S45 

were  a  piece  of  chalk  and  would  break  in  pieces. 
I  seem  to  have  no  personality.  I  am  rigid  and 
brittle.  I  am  nothing  and  float  along.  If  I 
shut  my  eyes  I  do  not  think  or  feel."  In  the 
second  state  she  had  a  sense  of  being  "  solid 
and  good,  like  a  living  plant,"  ideas  came  with- 
out a  feeling  of  effort,  there  was  a  sense  of 
physical  well-being,  of  cheerfulness,  "  I  feel  I 
am  something,  I  know  what  I  am.  I  am  an 
entirely  different  person  and  these  other  things 
seem  unreal  to  me."  These  different  states  of 
personality  would  alternate  with  one  another 
and  were  of  several  hours*  duration. 

Psychasthenia  may  be  either  hereditary  or 
acquired.  In  the  hereditary  cases,  there  is  usu- 
ally a  history  of  some  mental  or  nervous  disease, 
either  in  the  direct  family  or  in  some  of  its  col- 
lateral branches.  Many  psychasthenic  patients 
have  been  shy  and  timid,  from  childhood  up, 
blushing  on  slight  occasions  and  subject  to  daj'^- 
dreaming,  imaginative  lying,  and  mental  rumi- 
nation, a  tendency  which  is  also  noticeable  in 
some  hysterics.  In  the  acquired  cases,  the  dis- 
ease is  usually  brought  about  through  an  emo- 
tional shock.  The  incidents  of  this  emotional 
shock,  by  a  kind  of  an  unconscious  auto-sugges- 
tion, tend  to  repeat  themselves  automatically, 
and  thus  there  arise  the  various  obsessions  and 
the  recurrent  attacks  of  fear.    When  the  mem- 


846       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

ory  for  the  original  episode  enters  consciousness 
it  usually  does  so  automatically  and  suddenly, 
to  the  exclusion  of  everything  else.  Hence 
arises  the  mental  torture  of  the  obsessions  and 
phobias  with  their  various  physical  symptoms. 
One  woman  developed  a  fear  of  closed  places 
because  on  one  occasion,  while  in  a  state  of 
fatigue,  during  a  vi§it  in  a  small,  close  room, 
there  arose  a  slight  fainting  attack.  In  still 
another  case  there  developed  a  fear  of  crowds, 
because  some  time  previously  at  a  crowded 
school  celebration,  the  patient  became  slightly 
overcome  by  heat  and  felt  like  screaming.  Now 
in  conditions  like  these,  the  recurrence  of  the 
fear  is  automatic,  and  the  mental  state  of  fear 
that  develops  is  accompanied  by  its  usual  phys- 
ical symptoms,  such  as  trembling,  palpitation  of 
the  heart,  dryness  of  the  mouth,  a  dazed  condi- 
tion of  the  mind,  and  cold  perspiration.  Some- 
times the  original  incident  cannot  be  volun- 
tarily recalled,  because  it  is  dissociated.  Under 
these  conditions,  the  emotional  state  alone  enters 
consciousness  periodically.  These  so-called  fear 
neuroses  are  really  psychasthenic  states. 

The  obsessions  are  intellectual  phenomena  of 
the  highest  order,  are  ideas  usually  of  a  patho- 
logical character.  They  are  frequently  very 
abstract  and  complicated  ideas.  They  are  called 
obsessions  because  they  obsess  or  possess  the 


PSYCHASTHENIA  847 

mind  of  the  subject  to  the  exchision  of  nearly 
everything  else.  The  obsessions  are  character- 
ized by  their  absence  of  usefulness  in  practical 
life;  in  fact,  they  may  be  interpreted  as  patho- 
logical and  not  as  normal  ideas.  They  are  usu- 
ally divided  into  five  classes,  which  again  may 
have  numerous  subdivisions  and  variations,  and 
relate  to  all  the  acts  of  everyday  life.  These 
five  classes  are,  in  general,  obsessions  of  sacri- 
lege, crime,  disgrace  of  body,  disgrace  of  self, 
and  hypochondriacal  ideas.  In  spite  of  their 
variation  and  multiplicity  of  symptoms,  the  ob- 
sessions have  many  common  characteristics. 
They  are  usually  automatic  in  their  action  and 
dominating  in  character,  and  while  at  times  they 
may  be  less  insistent  than  at  others,  yet  during 
the  course  of  the  disease,  they  are  usually  more 
or  less  present  in  the  consciousness  of  the  sub- 
ject. Thought  is  always  directed  towards  pecu- 
liar behavior,  and  extremes  of  behavior  and 
actions  are  marked.  There  is  a  strong  tendency 
to  action,  with  a  very  marked  absence  of  execu- 
tion, hence  obsessions  are  usually  associated 
with  a  certain  weakness  of  the  will.  In  spite  of 
this  weakness  of  the  will,  some  patients  will  per- 
form acts  having  some  relation  to  the  obsession, 
or  even  contrary  acts  may  be  the  result  of  the 
dominating  idea,  a  kind  of  a  reaction  of  defence. 
Sometimes  these  obsessions  are  associated  with 


848        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

hallucinations,  the  hallucinations  are  always 
vague,  thus  differing  from  the  same  phenomena 
of  the  insane.  The  visual  image  seems  to  be 
without  color,  and  in  the  auditory  type  the 
words  are  without  sound;  they  have  not  the 
characteristics  of  exteriority,  they  lack  reality, 
they  are  merely  symbolic  of  the  dominating 
idea.  Frequently  these  obsessed  patients  are 
forced  to  think  in  an  exaggerated  and  unnatural 
manner,  their  head  "  works  "  in  spite  of  them, 
they  feel  compelled  to  accomplish  useless  move- 
ments and  have  violent,  irresistible  emotions. 

One  of  the  most  common  of  these  obsessive 
states  is  what  is  known  as  the  obsession  of  self- 
consciousness.  Here  the  subject  becomes  abr, 
normally  self-conscious  in  everything  he  does, 
a  distinct  embarrassment  and  timidity  arises, 
particularly  in  the  presence  of  strangers,  some- 
times the  hands  tremble,  and  blushing  is  quite 
frequent.  This  pathological  blushing  is  known 
as  erythrophobia  and  it  is  really  only  a  symp- 
tom of  a  pathological  self-consciousness. 

One  patient  became  obsessed  with  the  idea 
that  perhaps  he  had  done  something  wrong 
during  a  certain  examination.  He  analyzed  his 
mental  state  as  follows — *'  All  this  time  there 
was  hardly  a  quarter  of  an  hour  when  I  was 
free  from  the  obsessing  ideas.  At  first  I 
laughed  at  the  idea.     Then  I  remembered  that 


PSYCHASTHENIA  349 

some  one  had  once  shown  me  some  dates  and 
asked  me  if  they  were  correct.  I  feared  that  I 
had  seen  some  dates  and  used  them.  Then  I 
remembered  that  once  I  was  given  a  foreign 
text  without  notes  or  vocabulary,  in  order  to 
translate  a  passage  at  sight.  One  word  puzzled 
me  and  I  turned  over  some  leaves  to  see  if  I 
could  find  it  in  another  context  which  would 
indicate  its  meaning.  I  remember  saying  to 
myself,  '  No,  I  won't  do  that,  some  one  might 
think  I  was  cribbing.'  I  stopped,  although,  of 
course,  the  thing  was  entirely  proper.  Then  I 
began  to  think  that  while,  of  course,  I  could 
never  have  taken  help  with  me  to  the  examina- 
tion, yet  I  might  have  copied  off  the  paper  of 
some  one  near  me.  I  couldn't  remember  doing 
such  a  thing,  but  I  couldn't  remember  not  doing 
it.  Then  I  began  to  think,  that  perhaps  the 
reason  I  couldn't  remember  copying  was  be- 
cause it  was  so  habitual  that  it  made  no  impres- 
sion on  my  mind.  I  wrote  to  the  school  and 
discovered  that  the  distance  between  the  desks 
was  so  great  that  it  was  impossible  for  a  man 
to  copy.  That  eased  my  mind,  but  then  came 
the  idea  that  perhaps  I  had  taken  help  into  the 
class.  This  was  strengthened  by  the  discovery 
that  I  had  forgotten  so  many  incidents  in  my 
life."  The  above  shows  in  an  admirable  man- 
ner the  peculiar  manner  of  thinking  and  the  ab- 


S50       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

normal  logic  of  an  obsessed  patient  and  how  he 
will  go  to  extremes  of  action  in  the  attempt  to 
either  prove  or  disprove  his  obsessing  idea. 

Obsessions  are  compulsory  ideas,  and  from 
these  obsessions  it  is  but  a  step  to  other  peculiar 
compulsory  thoughts,  known  as  mental  manias 
or  agitations.  Here  the  mind  of  the  subject 
swings  or  oscillates  hopelessly  between  certain 
given  ideas,  never  reaching  a  normal  mean,  but 
going  from  one  absurd  extreme  to  the  other. 
These  unfortunate  subjects  can  never  arrive  at 
a  final  decision  or  a  complete  conviction.  Shake- 
speare's Hamlet  is  a  type  of  this  condition  of 
indecision. 

In  the  mania  of  interrogation,  the  question- 
ing relates  mainly  to  the  subject's  personal  ap- 
pearance. One  patient  was  constantly  troubled 
by  a  fear  of  growing  old,  frequently  looked  at 
herself  in  a  mirror,  and  constantly  repeated  to 
herself,  *'  Why  are  these  men  working?  Why 
is  this  woman  happy?  Why  is  this  house 
pretty?  Why  do  people  buy  pretty  things? 
I  can't  keep  from  getting  old,  and  this  is  on 
my  mind  all  the  time.  Everything  I  see  re- 
minds me  of  getting  old.  I  noticed  a  couple  of 
wrinkles  under  my  eyes  and  then  I  wondered  if 
other  people  had  them,  and  then  I  kept  looking 
and  looking  at  myself." 

In  the  mania  of  hesitation  and  deliberation 


PSYCHASTHENIA  851 

the  doubts  which  assail  the  mind  of  the  subject 
prevent  the  execution  of  all  normal  acts.  Some- 
times the  patient  is  troubled  with  a  mania  of 
omens  and  then  seeks  the  determination  and 
carrying  out  of  his  actions  in  certain  mystical 
and  rehgious  symbols.  This  type  of  mania  can 
be  found  in  the  confessions  of  certain  writers, 
like  Rousseau,  and  in  the  pages  of  certain  mys- 
tics, like  John  Bunyan. 

After  a  time,  these  manias  may  react  in  ways 
called  by  Janet  the  "  manias  of  going  to  ex- 
treme." Here  we  have  a  multitude  of  sub- 
divisions whose  symptoms  are  sufficiently  indi- 
cated by  their  names.  These  manias  are  pre- 
cision, verification,  order,  symmetry,  contrast, 
contradiction,  cleanliness,  micromania,  the  arith- 
metical and  symbolic  manias,  explanation,  pre- 
caution, repetition,  perfection,  etc.  The  arith- 
metical manias  are  very  curious  and  a  number 
of  these  have  as  their  basis  superstitions  which 
attach  to  certain  numbers,  for  instance,  three, 
seven,  or  thirteen.  Some  patients  will  avoid 
certain  numbers;  in  others,  a  number  becomes  a 
fixed  idea.  One  patient  felt  compelled  to  count, 
in  spite  of  herself,  the  number  of  fingers  with 
which  she  touched  an  object,  and  for  nothing  in 
the  world  would  she  touch  an  object  with  seven 
fingers  at  a  time.  If  she  happened  to  touch 
an   object  completely   with  three   fingers   and 


852       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

lightly  with  the  fourth,  this  light  touch  would 
count  as  half  a  finger.  This,  if  multiplied  by 
two  (because  there  are  two  hands),  would  equal 
seven,  and  hence  the  terrible  number  would 
again  arise. 

The  motor  agitations  or  tics  frequently  ac- 
company certain  psychasthenic  states.  These 
are  peculiar  muscular  contractions,  either  shak- 
ing of  the  head  or  twitching  of  the  face,  in  fact, 
any  sort  of  muscular  activity  of  which  the 
human  body  is  capable  may  enter  into  a  tic. 
Tics  are  systematized  muscular  movements  pro- 
duced regularly  and  automatically,  thus  differ- 
\  ing  from  the  irregular  muscular  movements  of 
chorea  or  St.  Vitus'  dance.  The  movements  are 
useless  and  inopportune,  however.  Conscious- 
ness is  always  clear  during  these  movements, 
but  the  will  feels  forced  into  their  accomplish- 
ment. If  there  should  arise  a  feeling  of  resist- 
ance, there  always  accompanies  this  more  or  less 
mental  anguish,  until  the  act  is  accomplished. 
When  the  subject  thinks  of  it,  or  when  there  is 
increased  attention,  there  is  likewise  an  increase 
of  the  tic.  Distraction  has  a  contrary  effect;  it 
leads  to  a  diminution. 

Under  the  emotional  agitations  are  comprised 
the  various  pathological  fears  (phobias)  and 
states  of  anxiety  which  usually  accompany  these 
fears.    The  number  of  these  fears  is  legion,  but 


PSYCHASTHENIA  353 

for  convenience  they  may  be  divided  into  four 
groups,  viz.: — phobias  of  bodily  functions,  pho- 
bias of  objects  (delire  du  contact),  phobias  of 
situation  (agoraphobia  and  claustrophobia),  and 
phobias  of  ideas. 

These  fears  are  always  abnormal  in  character 
and,  like  the  obsessions,  are  automatic.  They 
may  arise  gradually,  but  their  more  frequent 
onset  is  through  some  emotional  shock  in  a  cer- 
tain place,  which  later  tends  to  recur  when  the 
subject  is  in  an  identical  place  or  anticipates 
being  in  such  a  place.  So  we  see  that  auto- 
suggestion is  an  important  fact  in  the  produc- 
tion of  these  pathological  states  of  fear.  The 
attacks  of  fear  are  accompanied  by  a  mental 
state  of  anxiety;  sometimes  the  mind  becomes 
a  little  cloudy;  sometimes  there  arises  a  transi- 
tory feeling  of  unreality.  These  mental  accom- 
paniments of  fear  form  true  psychasthenic 
crises.  Psychasthenic  fears  are  usually  intense, 
systematized,  and  may  attach  themselves  to  any 
object  or  idea.  Among  the  more  common  fears, 
are  the  fear  of  being  alone  (monophobia),  fear 
of  closed  places  (claustrophobia),  fear  of  open 
places  (agoraphobia),  fear  of  dirt  or  germs 
(mygophobia) ,  fear  of  the  number  thirteen 
(triskaidekaphobia),  fear  of  railroads  (sidero- 
phobia),  etc.  Stage  fright  is  also  a  condition 
of  pathological  fear.    In  addition  to  the  mental 


354>       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

state  of  anxiety  that  accompanies  the  attack  of 
fear,  there  are  also  associated  the  usual  physical 
accompaniments  of  fear,  such  as  trembling, 
pallor,  sweating,  dryness  of  the  mouth,  increased 
heart  action,  and  occasional  disturbances  of  the 
stomach  and  intestines,  all  of  which  have  al- 
ready been  sufficiently  described  in  the  chapter 

^on  the  emotions.  Most  of  the  fears  can  be 
traced  to  an  emotional  episode  which  has  been 
conserved  in  the  unconscious ;  in  a  few  cases,  the 

\^  original  episode  has  become  dissociated. 

In  these  states  of  abnormal  fear,  when  the 
original  experience  which  caused  the  fear  has 
become  dissociated  from  consciousness,  it  is 
necessary  to  form  a  synthesis  before  a  cure  can 
take  place.  This  is  well  indicated  in  the  fol- 
lowing personal  observation.  After  a  period  of 
fatigue,  incident  to  some  rather  strenuous  social 
duties,  a  young  woman  had  a  peculiar  attack 
one  evening,  just  as  she  was  about  to  fall 
asleep.  She  suddenly  awakened  from  a  drowsy 
state  with  a  sensation  as  if  she  were  going  in- 
sane, her  thoughts  seemed  confused  and  jum- 
bled, the  head  whirled,  the  heart  palpitated,  and 
she  felt  in  a  panic.  This  attack  was  of  about  ten 
minutes'  duration.  The  attacks  repeated  them- 
selves nearly  every  night  thereafter  and  tended 
to  become  longer  and  longer.  An  examination 
showed  that  the  patient  was  free  from  any  signs 


PSYCHASTHENIA  355 

of  hysteria.  She  was  unable  to  explain  the 
origin  of  the  attacks.  Here,  undoubtedly,  we 
are  dealing  with  a  recurrent  state  of  fear,  prob- 
ably due  to  some  experience  in  the  past,  but 
which,  by  reason  of  the  physical  exhaustion,  had 
become  dissociated  from  the  personal  conscious- 
ness. Psycho-analysis  led  to  the  following  inter- 
esting results.  When  the  patient  was  placed  in 
a  state  of  experimental  abstraction,  a  record  of 
experiences  was  obtained,  fragmentary  at  first, 
but  they  finally  could  be  grouped  into  a  logical 
order,  in  the  same  manner  that  the  lost  memories 
appear  in  functional  amnesia.  These  dissociated 
experiences  showed  briefly  that  following  a 
period  of  fatigue  incident  to  the  entertainment 
of  some  friends,  the  subject  shortly  afterward 
went  on  a  visit,  without  complete  recovery  from 
the  fatigue.  While  on  the  train,  she  became 
greatly  interested  in  a  novel.  In  this  novel 
there  was  given  a  vi\ad  description  of  fear  in 
one  of  the  principal  characters.  In  general  this 
character  became  panic-stricken  under  certain 
conditions  which  it  is  not  necessary  to  explain 
here.  That  same  night  the  patient  had  her  first 
attack  of  fear,  and  this  was  indefinitely  repeated 
as  detailed  above.  While  in  this  state  of  experi- 
mental abstraction,  in  which  the  submerged 
memories  were  brought  to  the  surface  of  con- 
sciousness, when  asked  to  think  of  this  experi- 


S56       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

ence,  there  was  an  immediate  increase  in  the 
pulse  rate.     [See  Fig.  VIII.  A.] 

These   details  are  very  instructive  and  em- 
phasize the  following  points.     During  a  state 


A  B 

Fio.  VIII. — Pulse  curves  in  a  psychasthenic  subject,  who  bad 
peculiar  attacks  of  fear. 

A. — Increase  of  pulse  rate  when  requested  to  mentally  recall 
the  original  emotional  experience. 

B. — No  change  in  pulse  rate  after  recovery  when  requested 
to  think  of  the  same  emotional  experience. 

At  1  in  each  case  the  test  was  made. 

of  fatigue  certain  incidents  of  a  novel  impressed 
themselves  with  great  force  upon  her  mind. 
While  reading  she  was  probably  in  one  of  those 
states  of  normal  abstraction  which  have  been 
already  described.  In  this  state  of  abstraction 
and  fatigue,  certain  impressive  incidents  became 
immediately  dissociated  from  consciousness  and 
she  could  not  voluntarily  reproduce  them. 
Hence  a  mental  state  of  fear  arose,  with  its 
accompanying  physical  symptoms,  a  mental 
state   which   exerted   its  baneful   influence   be- 


PSYCHASTHENIA  357 

cause   it   had   an   activity  independent   of  the 
subject's  consciousness. 

In  a  condition  like  this,  if  the  dissociated  ex-' 
perience  were  synthetized  with  consciousness  and 
thus  brought  under  control  and  censorship,  the 
attacks  ought  to  cease.  This,  in  fact,  was  the 
case,  and  the  patient  recovered  after  this  syn- 
thesis was  accomplished.  Coincident  with  the 
recovery,  no  further  quickening  of  the  pulse 
took  place,  when  she  was  again  asked  to  think  of 
the  original  experience.  [See  Fig.  VIII.  B.] 
The  physiological  reaction  of  the  pulse  increase 
and  the  mental  state  of  fear  ceased  because  the 
emotions  could  now  run  a  normal  course. 

Sometimes,  too,  a  recurrent  attack  of  fear  will 
take  place,  due  to  an  association  with  some  of 
the  elements  of  the  original  attack.  Here  the 
psychasthenic  state  becomes  what  has  been 
termed  an  association  neurosis.  In  these  condi- 
tions, if  an  analysis  be  made  according  to  the 
association  method,  it  will  be  found  that  a 
slowness  of  reaction  will  take  place  with  test 
words  related  to  the  original  experience.  In 
one  case  of  this  class,  for  instance,  it  was  noted 
that  while  the  reaction  time  for  indifferent  words 
varied  between  two  and  three  seconds,  yet  for 
words  relating  to  the  emotional  experience,  the 
reaction  time  was  increased  from  seven  to 
twenty-five  seconds.    Here  the  emotional  factor 


S58        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

caused  not  only  the  recurrent  attacks  of  fear, 
but  also  the  inhibition  of  thought. 

While  the  phobias  are  classed  under  the  head 
of  systematized  emotional  agitations,  the  diffuse 
emotional  agitations  may  be  termed  states  of 
anxiety.  Yet  this  latter  is  merely  the  mental 
and  physical  anguish  that  accompanies  the 
phobias  and  obsessions;  they  are  really  the 
psychical  and  physical  correlatives  of  the  emo- 
tional state  of  the  obsessed  or  fearful  subject. 
In  the  same  manner  a  state  called  mental  rumi- 
nation accompanies  the  manias,  a  sort  of  patho- 
logical "  to  be  or  not  to  be,"  in  which  the  subject 
accumulates  ideas,  piles  question  upon  question, 
and  finally  loses  himself  in  an  inextricable  maze 
of  symbolism. 

A  brief  account  of  two  cases  will  show  the 
nature  of  these  psychasthenic  fears.  The  first 
patient,  on  one  occasion,  two  years  previously, 
while  riding  horseback,  suddenly  came  to  an 
open  field.  Immediately  he  became  frightened, 
thought  that  he  was  going  to  fall  off  the  horse, 
felt  faint,  the  heart  beat  rapidly,  he  perspired 
freely,  and  trembled  all  over.  He  felt,  to  use 
his  own  expression,  "  as  if  the  end  of  the  world 
was  coming."  Since  then  he  has  been  afraid  of 
open  places,  or  public  squares,  fields,  and  parks. 
If  he  goes  into  an  open  space,  there  results  a 
repetition  of  the  first  attack  of  fear.    Later  he 


PSYCHASTHENIA  359 

also  developed  a  fear  of  closed  places,  such  as 
cars  and  subways.  In  a  closed  place  he  becomes 
uneasy,  develops  a  marked  sense  of  anxiety,  and 
feels  like  fainting.  Here  we  have  a  typical 
example  of  the  fear  of  both  open  and  closed 
places  (agoraphobia  and  claustrophobia). 

In  another  patient,  these  crises  of  anxiety 
due  to  fear  became  very  intense  and  led  to  a 
sense  of  partial  depersonalization.  The  patient 
expressed  his  condition  as  follows:  "  I  am  hor- 
ror-stricken. I  am  in  a  horrible  daze  all  the 
time.  There  is  nothing  to  me.  I  can't  think 
or  do  anything.  When  I  go  out  in  the  street, 
I  am  in  constant  fear  of  people.  I  feel  panic- 
stricken.  I  have  a  frightful  time  getting  home. 
I  feel  all  contracted  and  cannot  move,  you  can 
see  my  heart  thumping  all  over,  and  I  seem  to 
feel  disjointed,  I  have  no  legs  or  arms  or  hands, 
my  sensations  are  gone.  My  limbs  seem  to 
belong  to  some  one  else." 

There  are  two  symptoms  which  frequently 
occur  in  psychasthenia  and  which  in  many  ways 
are  characteristic  of  the  disease.  These  symp- 
toms are  the  feeling  of  unreality  and  the  sense 
of  depersonalization.  The  latter,  in  particular, 
shows  that  in  many  psychasthenics  we  are  deal- 
ing with  a  form  of  mental  dissociation.  While 
these  symptoms  may  also  occur  in  certain  men- 
tal  diseases,   such  as   melancholia,   yet  in   the 


S60       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

latter  condition  they  are  mere  episodes,  while 
in  psychasthenia  they  result  from  the  nature  of 
the  disease  process  itself.  The  feeling  of  un- 
reality relates  either  to  the  outside  world  or  to 
the  subject's  own  mental  or  physical  personality. 
When  the  mental  or  physical  personality  is  in- 
volved in  the  feeling  of  unreality,  there  follows 
that  marked  sense  of  depersonalization  or  the 
peculiar  change  in  the  identity  of  the  subject. 
The  explanation  of  this  sense  of  unreality  has 
given  rise  to  many  conflicting  theories.  Into 
these  psychological  explanations  we  cannot  en- 
ter in  detail,  further  than  to  state  a  few  of  the 
main  facts  of  two  of  the  opposing  theories. 
Some  German  investigators  claim  that  the 
symptom  is  due  either  to  a  disorder  of  the  or- 
ganic sensations,  particularly  the  muscle  sensa- 
tions, or  to  an  alteration  in  the  feeling  of  recog- 
nition. Janet  calls  the  phenomenon  a  psycho- 
leptic  crisis  and  claims  that  the  symptom  has 
nothing  to  do  with  organic  sensations,  because 
a  careful  search  for  changes  in  sensation  in  his 
case  revealed  nothing.  Still  others  consider 
these  strange  feelings  of  unreality  as  a  kind  of 
diluted  or  lengthened  epileptic  attack  which,  if 
compressed  into  a  shorter  length  of  time,  would 
result  in  unconsciousness.  As  a  rule,  the  sense 
of  unreality  comes  on  very  suddenly  and  just 
as  suddenly  ends.     Sometimes  it  is  of  only  a 


PSYCHASTHENIA  S6l 

few  minutes'  duration,  at  other  times  it  may  last 
for  days  and  weeks,  and  then  it  is  accompanied 
by  intense  anxiety  because  of  the  inability  of 
the  subject  to  properly  grasp  either  the  external 
world  or  his  own  personality. 

The  external  senses  act  only  in  an  accessory 
and  secondary  manner  in  the  "  feeling "  of  the 
personality.  All  sensory  perception  is  made 
up  of  two  elements,  the  specific  or  sensorial 
element  and  the  organic  or  myopsychic  element. 
This  latter  is  made  up  of  sensations  of  muscu- 
lar activity,  and  the  memory  images  of  this 
activity  are  intimately  united  to  the  images  of 
organic  sensations  of  the  internal  or  visceral 
organs.  Their  totality  contributes  to  what  is 
called  the  cenesthesia,  the  sense  of  our  bodily 
existence,  of  our  physical  personality,  the  vague 
feeling  which  we  have  of  our  being,  independ- 
ently of  the  evidence  of  our  senses.  Now  when 
this  cenesthesia  is  disturbed  in  any  of  its  parts, 
the  feeling  of  unreality  or  depersonalization 
arises,  due,  according  to  one  school,  to  changes 
in  the  organic  sensations,  and  according  to  the 
other  to  a  lowering  of  the  mental  level  which 
interferes  with  the  normal  sense  of  reality. 

Now  this  sense  of  unreality  may  be  of  sev- 
eral varieties.  The  personality  may  appear 
changed,  so  that  the  subject  loses  his  identity, 
either  in  part  or  in  whole;  the  external  world 


862        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

may  appear  strange,  dreamy,  misty,  phantom- 
like, unreal;  familiar  objects  may  appear  as  if 
seen  for  the  first  time;  finally,  the  personality 
may  change  from  time  to  time,  a  real  multiple 
personality  occurring  in  a  psychasthenic;  in  a 
few  cases,  even  the  thoughts  may  appear  unreal, 
not  a  part  of  the  subject's  self,  and  finally  there 
may  be  a  sense  of  entire  negation  of  self  and 
of  the  universe.  So  we  see  that  this  sense  of 
unreality  may  present  varying  degrees  of  in- 
tensity, from  the  very  mildest  forms  to  a  com- 
plete sense  of  negation.  A  few  details  from 
cases  will  make  this  strange  phenomenon  clear. 

In  the  first  patient,  the  attacks  came  on  sud- 
denly and  were  of  only  a  few  minutes'  dura- 
tion. The  patient  would  suddenly  feel  strange, 
a  sensation  would  take  possession  of  her  as  if 
she  were  "  pushed  away,"  as  "  though  my  real 
self  were  away  off  there,  and  I  didn't  belong  to 
myself.  Things  did  not  seem  to  belong  to  me, 
as  if  I  were  not  a  part  of  the  surroundings. 
Things  did  not  look  natural.  I  wondered  how 
I  got  there,  and  to  whom  all  these  things  be- 
longed." 

Another  patient  described  her  condition  as 
follows:  "  I  can't  form  a  mind  picture  of  where 
I  live.  I  am  all  alone  in  my  mind.  Things 
change  every  day.  The  looks  of  my  house  and 
the  street  seem  to  change  every  day.    It  seems 


PSYCHASTHENIA  36S 

as  if  I  lived  long  ago,  as  if  I  did  everything 
before.  It  is  all  past,  there  is  no  present  and 
no  future.  I  am  not  conscious  of  sleep.  I  just 
open  my  eyes.  I  don't  know  who  I  am, — I've 
lost  my  identity.  My  mind  is  all  gone,  it  seems 
as  if  there  was  nothing  there.  The  feel  of 
things  is  unnatural.  I  look  at  my  body  and 
wonder  if  it  is  mine,  and  I  wonder  if  my  mind 
is  in  my  body.  Everything  looks  large  and 
magnified,  and  everything  in  the  distance  ap- 
pears close." 

A  third  patient  felt  that  "  nothing  is  right.  I 
don't  feel  like  myself.  I  think  I  have  a  Dr. 
Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde  existence."  Still  another 
patient  expressed  herself  as  follows:  "  I  feel  as 
if  I  move  in  a  great  space  of  the  world,  I  am 
not  related  to  anything  in  the  world.  I  feel 
that  I  am  not  myself,  that  only  a  part  is  my- 
self.   I  that  was,  am  I  no  longer." 

The  treatment  of  these  psychasthenic  states 
is  distinctly  psychotherapeutic,  either  by  direct 
suggestion  in  certain  artificial  states,  through 
synthesis,  or  by  means  of  psycho-analysis.  Re- 
education of  the  emotions  is  of  particular  value 
in  psychasthenia.  In  all  conditions,  the  physi- 
cal element  of  treatment  through  baths,  elec- 
tricity, rest,  and  drugs  must  not  be  neglected. 


CHAPTER  VII 

NEURASTHENIA 

Hysteria,  psychasthenia,  and  neurasthenia 
may  be  called  the  great  triad  of  functional 
neuroses.  The  last,  however,  is  by  far  the  most 
common  of  the  three.  The  subject  of  neuras- 
thenia is  a  vast  one,  not  only  because  of  the 
wide  distribution  of  the  disease,  but  also  from  its 
complex  symptoms.  The  history  of  the  disease 
bears  a  curious  analogy  to  that  of  hysteria. 
Whereas,  both  diseases  were  formerly  considered 
to  have  a  physical  basis,  hysteria  as  being  de- 
pendent on  some  uterine  disturbance  and  neuras- 
thenia as  a  form  of  genuine  nerve  exhaustion, 
modern  investigations  have  shown  the  purely 
functional  character  of  both  these  diseases. 
With  the  exception  of  Freud's  recent  theories 
on  the  part  played  by  sexual  emotions  in  the 
genesis  of  hysteria  and  some  obsessions,  the  only 
survival  of  the  old  sex  idea  is  in  the  etymology 
of  the  word,  in  the  same  way  that  "  nervous 
exhaustion  "  persists  as  a  popular  term  for  the 
extremely  complex  psychological  phenomena  of 
neurasthenia.      Although    neurasthenia    is    the 

861 


NEURASTHENIA  S6S 

most  common  of  all  the  functional  neuroses, 
particularly  in  modern  times  and  in  our  large 
cities,  yet  there  is  no  word  in  medicine  which  has 
been  so  loosely  or  so  vaguely  used.  How  many 
patients  are  conventionally  labelled  with  this 
disease  because  of  slight  depression  and  fatigue 
symptoms,  when  in  reality,  in  some  of  these 
cases,  the  neurasthenic  state  is  an  outward  ex- 
pression of  another  functional  disturbance. 
Sometimes  a  severe  organic  nervous  disease 
may  tend  to  resemble  neurasthenia.  In  other 
cases,  mild  forms  of  dementia  praecox  are  some- 
times mistaken  for  neurasthenia.  The  psychical 
condition  of  certain  mild  forms  of  depression 
resembles  the  mental  state  of  neurasthenia,  but 
close  analysis  will  bring  out  several  prominent 
features  which  clearly  differentiate  the  condi- 
tion from  the  neurasthenic  state.  These  mild 
depressions,  which  are  usually  periodic  in  char- 
acter, are  termed  cyclothemia.  Freud  tends  to 
distinguish  between  the  "  actual  neuroses,"  in 
which  the  causative  agent  is  usually  active  at  the 
time  of  the  first  appearance  of  the  symptoms, 
as  in  neurasthenia,  and  the  psycho-neuroses,  in 
which  the  symptoms  arise  from  unconscious,  re- 
pressed thoughts  in  childhood,  such  as  hysteria 
and  psychasthenia.  In  this  chapter  we  can  dis- 
cuss only  the  most  essential  points  of  the  disease 
from  the  standpoint  of  abnormal  psychology. 


366        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

In  other  words,  we  shall  attempt  to  show  that, 
like  hysteria  and  multiple  personality,  neuras- 
thenia is  but  one  of  the  many  expressions  of  a 
dissociation  of  the  personality.  It  is  thus  the 
psycho-genetic  viewpoint  which  is  of  value  in 
elucidating  neurasthenia,  rather  than  an  at- 
tempt to  correlate  the  neurasthenic  symptom- 
complex  with  a  physiological  substratum.  The 
two  principal  factors  producing  this  neuras- 
thenic dissociation  are  the  emotions  and  fatigue. 
In  a  previous  chapter  we  have  already  seen  how 
certain  depressing  emotions  may  lead  to  disso- 
ciation of  consciousness,  while,  on  the  contrary, 
the  emotion  of  well-being  and  exaltation  has 
an  opposite  synthetic  effect.  Before  we  take  up 
the  subject  of  neurasthenia  as  a  functional, 
fatigue  neurosis,  we  will  briefly  direct  our  at- 
tention to  fatigue  itself,  in  its  physiological, 
psychological,  and  pathological  aspects. 

Fatigue  is  one  of  the  phenomena  of  over- 
stimulation. If  living  tissue  be  subjected  to 
long-continued  or  oft-repeated  stimuli  of  any 
kind,  after  a  time  it  passes  into  a  condition 
which  we  call  fatigue.  In  fatigue  there  is  a 
decrease  of  the  irritability  of  living  substance, 
and  even  if  the  intensity  of  the  stimulus  remains 
the  same,  the  results  of  the  stimulation  grad- 
ually become  less  and  less.  In  addition,  it  will 
be  found  that  it  takes  a  stronger  and  stronger 


NEURASTHENIA  367 

stimulus  to  bring  about  any  reaction  at  all, 
until,  finally,  a  point  is  reached  where  even  the 
strongest  stimuli  are  ineffective.  If  an  isolated 
muscle  of  a  frog  be  stimulated  until  it  becomes 
incapable  of  further  work  and  then  the  muscle 
is  flushed  or  washed  out  with  normal  salt  solu- 
tion, it  will  again  respond  to  stimulation.  The 
Italian  physiologist  Mosso  has  shown  that  the 
introduction  of  the  blood  of  fatigued  dogs  into 
the  veins  of  fresh,  healthy  dogs,  will  give  rise, 
in  the  latter,  to  definite  symptoms  of  fatigue. 
These  experiments  demonstrate  that  in  fatigue 
certain  deleterious  products  accumulate  which 
act  as  poisons,  and  that  these  products  prevent 
any  further  reaction  of  the  living  tissue  to 
stimulation  until  they  are  removed.  In  normal 
tissue  these  fatigue  products  disappear  after 
rest  and  sleep.  Here  we  have  an  explanation, 
partial  at  least,  of  the  beneficial  results  of  rest 
and  sleep  in  normal  and  pathological  fatigue. 
Since  most  neurasthenic  states  are  only  partially 
benefited  through  rest,  and  in  some  cases  not  at 
all,  we  must  interpret  neurasthenia  as  only 
partial  fatigue  neurosis.  In  fact,  fatigue  is 
only  one  of  the  factors  in  the  production  of 
neurasthenia  as  certain  emotions  can  also  cause 
the  disease.  The  neurasthenic  state  appears  to 
be  but  one  of  the  many  expressions  of  a  disso- 
ciation of  the  personality. 


S68        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

Certain  definite  mental  symptoms  may  also 
appear  in  fatigue.  These  are  restlessness,  dim- 
inution of  attention,  lack  of  energy,  emotional 
instability,  leading  to  apparently  causeless 
laughter  or  crying,  disturbances  of  association 
of  ideas  and  difficulty  in  recalling  words  (am- 
nesia). In  addition,  sensations  which  enter  con- 
sciousness may  be  so  abnormally  felt  as  to 
become  painful.  This  increased  sensitiveness  to 
certain  stimuli  such  as  light,  noise,  or  even  music, 
a  kind  of  a  fatigue  hyperaesthesia,  is  a  frequent 
accompaniment  of  the  neurasthenic  state.  How 
many  neurasthenics  exclaim,  "  How  noises 
grate  and  jar  on  me!"  When  fatigue  is  car- 
ried to  a  point  beyond  the  possibility  of  recovery 
by  rest  or  nutrition  it  then  becomes  pathologi- 
cal. Exhaustion  of  the  nervous  system  may 
take  place  either  because  abnormally  high  de- 
mands are  made  upon  the  nerve  tissue,  or  be- 
cause there  is  not  sufficient  compensation  for 
the  functioning  of  the  tissue.  Therefore,  for 
the  maintenance  of  an  absolutely  perfect  func- 
tion of  the  nervous  system  the  relation  of  func- 
tion to  reparative  and  nutritive  processes  must 
be  accurately  balanced.  If  there  is  an  excess  of 
function,  the  nervous  system,  in  the  intervals 
of  rest,  may  not  be  able  to  repair  the  loss  sus- 
tained by  its  activity.  As  a  result,  either  a 
progressive   degeneration   or  a   functional   dis- 


NEURASTHENIA  369 

integration  of  the  entire  neuron  follows,  leading 
to  many  forms  of  organic  or  functional  dis- 
orders of  the  nervous  system.  These  functional 
disintegrations  may  lead  to  definite  changes  in 
the  personality  and  thus  cause  such  conditions 
as  the  neurasthenic,  hysterical,  and  psychasthenic 
states.  Chemical  analyses  and  the  microscope 
have  revealed  nothing  in  neurasthenia.  In  spite 
of  the  old  dictum  that  there  can  be  no  thought 
or  nerve  activity  without  the  presence  of  phos- 
phorus, yet  analyses  of  the  brain  in  neurasthenia 
have  shown  no  diminution  or  changes  in  its 
highly  phosphorized  constituents.  Chemical  in- 
vestigations of  the  excreta  have  likewise  been 
barren  of  results  and  there  has  not  been  the 
slightest  evidence,  experimental  or  otherwise,  for 
the  validity  of  the  hazy  auto-intoxication  theory. 
While  it  is  true  that  fatigue  may  cause  a 
neurasthenic  state,  it  seems  also  true  that 
neurasthenia  is  not  a  pure  fatigue  neurosis. 
This  can  be  made  clear,  if  attention  be  briefly 
directed  to  fatigue  phenomena  in  the  nervous 
system.  As  the  result  of  careful  experiments, 
it  has  been  shown  that  the  peripheral  nerves, 
spinal  cord,  and  brain  are  extremely  resistant 
to  fatigue,  and  that  it  is  in  the  muscles  that  we 
must  look  for  most  fatigue  phenomena.  It  is 
pointed  out  by  Sherrington,  that  the  reflex  arcs 
in  the  spinal  cord,  which  are  composed  of  chains 


870       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

of  nerve  cells,  "  seem  from  experimental  evi- 
dence to  be  relatively  indefatigable."  When  the 
muscle  is  fatigued,  its  contractions  are  not  so 
rapid  as  in  normal  muscles.  That  is  why  we 
work  more  slowly  and  with  a  sense  of  effort 
when  we  are  tired.  Now  the  sensations  from 
these  fatigued  muscles  enter  consciousness  and 
instead  of  "  brain  fag "  or  "  nervous  exhaus- 
tion," there  is  merely  a  consciousness  of  this 
muscular  fatigue.  The  fatigue  of  neurasthenia 
is  probably  of  this  nature,  because  many  cases 
of  neurasthenia  exist  in  which  fatigue  as  a  caus- 
ative factor  has  been  entirely  absent.  While  at 
the  beginning  of  the  disease,  there  may  be  a 
genuine  muscular  fatigue,  this  fatigue  ought 
to  disappear  after  rest,  because  the  muscles 
have  had  a  chance  to  recuperate.  This  dis- 
appearance of  fatigue  phenomena  in  muscles, 
after  rest,  is  in  harmony  with  all  the  facts  of 
experimental  physiology.  But  in  most  cases  of 
neurasthenia,  even  after  a  prolonged  rest  cure, 
the  sense  of  fatigue  continues.  It  may  be  in- 
definitely prolonged  and  even  further  rest  will 
not  serve  to  dissipate  it.  Now  if  the  real  mus- 
cular fatigue  must  have  disappeared  through 
rest,  what,  then,  remains?  Obviously,  only  the 
consciousness  of  the  past  muscular  fatigue.  The 
sense  of  fatigue  has  left  its  impression  on  the 
brain,  in  the  same  manner  that  a  person  feels 


NEURASTHENIA  871 

a  missing  limb,  long  after  it  has  been  amputated. 
The  limb  left  its  impression  on  the  brain,  in 
what  is  vaguely  termed  the  organic  sensation. 
When  the  limb  was  amputated,  this  sensation 
remained  as  a  memory,  because  of  its  long 
period  of  constant  impression.  So  it  is  with  the 
fatigue  of  neurasthenia.  The  real  muscular 
fatigue  has  disappeared,  only  its  memory,  a 
false  image  of  the  fatigue,  remains.  Of  course, 
by  this  we  do  not  mean  that  the  nervous  system 
never  becomes  fatigued.  This  fatigue  takes 
place  only  under  special  conditions,  however, 
such  as  severe  overwork  without  adequate  repair 
by  rest  or  nutrition.  It  is  in  this  real  fatigue  of 
the  nervous  system,  particularly  after  certain 
experiments  in  animals,  that  changes  have  been 
found  in  the  nerve  cells.  These  fatigue  changes 
in  the  nerve  cells  are  entirely  absent  in  neuras- 
thenic subjects.  We  do  insist,  however,  that  in 
most  cases  of  neurasthenia  we  are  not  dealing 
with  an  exhaustion  of  the  nervous  system, 
but  merely  with  a  memory  of  past  muscular 
fatigue. 

There  may  be  all  grades  of  neurasthenia,  from 
the  slightest  phenomena  to  the  most  severe 
types.  It  may  be  that  the  subject  complains  of 
only  slight  depression  or  fatigue  symptoms, 
sometimes  there  are  definite  changes  in  the  per- 
sonality,  on   other   occasions   the   neurasthenic 


372        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

state  may  be  the  outward  expression  of  another 
functional  disorder,   particularly  hysteria.     In 
fact,  neurasthenic  symptoms  occur  so  frequently 
in  hysteria  that  they  constitute  one  of  the  most 
important    so-called    stigmata    of    the    disease. 
For  instance,  one  neurasthenic  showed  peculiar 
changes  in  the  organic  sensations,  in  which  she 
was  unable  to  appreciate  the  taste  of  bitter,  or 
tell  the  difference  between  heat  and  cold,  neither 
had  she  any  sensations  of  fatigue  or  hunger. 
Another  one  felt  as  if  her  head  and  body  were 
apart,  as  if  the  "  two  hemispheres  of  my  brain 
were  separated,"  and  at  other  times  she  experi- 
enced sensations  "  as  if  I  were  shrinking,  shrink- 
ing away  to  nothing."     In  still  another  case, 
there  existed  a  complete  sense  of  change  of  per- 
sonality, the  patient  stating,  "  It  was  as  though 
I   had   possessed   a    dual    personality."     Miss 
Beauchamp,  a  case  in  which  it  was  shown  that 
the  neurasthenic  state  was  merely  one  of  four 
personalities,  presented  many  similar  phenom- 
ena.   Here,  in  addition  to  her  normal  self,  there 
was  a  hypnotic  personality  known  as  B.  I.,  and 
three  other  personalities  known  as  B.  II.,  B. 
III.,  and  B.  IV.     Each  of  these  personalities 
had  a  different  degree  of  health.    One  personal- 
ity was  decidedly  neurasthenic,  demonstrating 
that  neurasthenic  symptoms  are  often  an  evi- 
dence of  a  functional  disintegration. 


NEURASTHENIA  878 

Neurasthenia  is  very  widely  distributed  in  all 
countries.  It  occurs  about  as  frequently  in 
males  as  in  females.  Even  children  may  have 
it,  and  it  is  fairly  common  at  about  the  period 
of  puberty.  Heredity  predisposes  to  the  dis- 
ease, and  fatigue,  worry,  emotional  factors,  and 
certain  sexual  disorders  are  frequent  causes. 
Slight  or  grave  emotional  shocks  in  railroad  or 
other  accidents,  particularly  where  the  accident 
is  unexpected,  may  lead  to  the  so-called  trau- 
matic neuroses,  which  are  either  hysterical  or 
more  frequently  of  the  neurasthenic  type.  Men- 
tal overwork  may  cause  neurasthenia,  in  that  it 
more  easily  facilitates  the  dissociation  of  the 
personahty,  and  the  fatigue  induced  by  this 
overwork  tends  to  automatically  keep  up  this 
dissociation.  Certain  types  of  what  is  called 
congenital  neurasthenia,  in  which  the  subject 
from  childhood  up  complains  of  physical  weak- 
ness and  mental  insufficiencies,  really  belong  to 
the  psychasthenia  group.  The  mental  and 
physical  make-up  of  such  subjects  is  what  may 
be  termed  a  psychasthenic  constitution. 

Abnormal  psychology  interprets  neurasthenia 
as  a  functional  disorder,  and  like  hysteria,  mul- 
tiple personality,  and  the  psychasthenic  states,  it 
is  one  of  the  forms  of  dissociation  of  conscious- 
ness. This  explains  the  frequent  inefficiency  of 
the  purely  physical  treatment  of  the  disease. 


874       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

The  disease,  however,  frequently  has  purely 
physical  complications,  such  as  gastric  disorders, 
intestinal  fermentation  and  a  poor  blood  state, 
which,  of  course,  need  appropriate  treatment. 
That  these  complications  are  the  cause  of  the 
disease  is  very  doubtful  in  the  light  of  modern 
investigations,  although  certain  purely  physical 
diseases  may  lead  to  a  condition  strongly  re- 
sembling neurasthenia,  but  probably  not  identi- 
cal with  it. 

The  sense  of  healthy  personality  depends 
upon  the  general  feeling  of  comfort  in  our  or- 
ganic sensations,  as  they  are  conveyed  to  con- 
sciousness. A  healthy  personality  is  a  unity,  a 
synthesis  of  various  organic  and  mental  sensa- 
tions. Anxiety,  depression,  fatigue,  worry,  if 
they  do  occur  in  the  healthy  individual,  are 
usually  transitory  episodes.  Any  disturbance 
of  the  organic  sensations  can  carry  this  anxiety, 
depression,  or  fatigue  to  an  abnormal  degree, 
and  there  arises  a  sense  of  discord  between  one's 
self  and  the  outer  world.  In  particular,  abnor- 
mal fatigue  or  abnormal  emotions  tend  to  dis- 
turb the  balance  of  organic  sensations  and  a 
state  of  functional  disintegration  is  produced 
with  all  its  physical,  intellectual,  and  emotional 
phenomena.  The  unity  has  fallen  apart,  and 
there  results  a  state  of  weakened  synthesis,  dis- 
integration, dissociation,  call  it  what  you  will. 


NEURASTHENIA  375 

Fundamentally  a  change  in  the  personality  is 
produced,  a  dissociation  of  consciousness,  and 
this  dissociation  may  lead,  according  to  its 
intensity,  to  either  hysteria,  multiple  personal- 
ity, or  neurasthenia.  Therefore  neurasthenia, 
like  hysteria,  is  a  state  of  abnormal,  func- 
tional disintegration.  This  disintegration  or 
dissociation  is  an  abnormal  psychological  phe- 
nomenon, and  like  all  other  phenomena  of  its 
particular  type,  it  tends  to  take  on  an  auto- 
matic activity  and  becomes  a  habit.  Hence  the 
stubborn  persistence  of  all  neurasthenic  symp- 
toms to  treatment.  The  weakened  synthesis  in 
neurasthenia  tends  to  the  development  of  un- 
stable psychic  elements  and  the  personality  be- 
comes disordered.  The  fatigue  in  particular, 
as  was  previously  pointed  out,  is  not  real  but 
is  due  to  the  persistence  of  certain  abnormal  or- 
ganic sensations  in  consciousness.  The  real 
fatigue  which  first  caused  the  neurasthenic  dis- 
sociation has  vanished,  and  in  the  abnormal 
mental  state  thus  produced  there  is  a  tendency 
to  repeat  automatically  the  previous  sensations 
of  fatigue. 

Neurasthenic  symptoms,  although  mental,  are 
not  imaginary.  The  neurasthenic  is  a  real  suf- 
ferer. The  catalogue  of  his  ills  is  large  and  for- 
midable, yet  how  different  is  the  living  neuras- 
thenic from  his  inanimate  counterpart  of  the 


\ 


876        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

text-books.  The  most  striking  point  about  the 
neurasthenic  is  his  introspection,  his  continual 
morbid  self-analysis.  Only  under  the  stress  of 
intense  emotions  does  the  neurasthenic  forget 
himself.  The  personality  has  become  changed. 
Interest  in  things  about  him  is  lost,  he  feels 
broken  up,  depressed,  anxious,  cannot  control 
his  thoughts  or  feelings.  The  mental  state  of 
neurasthenia  and  its  effect  on  the  personality 
can  perhaps  best  be  conveyed  by  the  following 
extracts  from  the  letter  of  a  highly  intelligent 
patient : 

"  I  found  an  excessive  self-consciousness,  extreme 
sensitiveness,  that  showed  itself  in  a  way  I  could  neither 
understand  nor  overcome.  It  seemed  to  me  the  fear 
and  apprehension  with  which  I  had  lived  and  suffered 
so  long  had  persisted.  The  way  in  which  this  fear 
was  manifested  was  exceedingly  trying,  humiliating,  and 
perplexing  to  me.  Most  unexpectedly  a  fear  of  some 
one  with  whom  I  was  associated  would  seize  me,  not 
necessarily  a  person  whom  I  disliked,  but  most  often  it 
would  be  some  one  for  whom  I  felt  the  greatest  respect, 
and  even  affection.  This  fear  would  become  a  veritable 
panic  and  would  seem  to  take  possession  of  me,  en^ 
chaining  my  mind,  body,  and  soul,  making  me  helpless. 
I  could  not  act  out  my  real  self,  and  found  it  im- 
possible to  express  myself  naturally,  either  by  word  or 
act,  and  internally  I  suffered  intensely.  Often  the 
nervous  agitation  would  be  so  great  that  I  would  be 


NEURASTHENIA  377 

weak  and  even  sore  from  its  effects.  As  a  rule  I  re- 
sisted this  strange  intangible  influence,  with  all  the 
energy  of  my  being,  but  it  was  very  seldom  I  was  able 
to  overcome  it.  As  a  rule  it  baffled  me,  and  when  I 
felt  I  had  done  all  I  could  and  failed,  I  would  simply 
leave  the  place  and  person,  feeling  myself  conquered 
by  an  unseen,  unreal,  evil  force,  outside,  apparently, 
of  myself.  Under  this  malign  influence  I  lost  my  sense 
of  the  proportion  of  things;  this  awful,  diseased  im- 
agination assumed  such  a  mountainous  size  in  my 
thoughts  and  life,  at  times  all  else  was  secondary  to  it." 

After  a  recovery  through  educational  meth- 
ods, the  condition  is  described  as  follows: 

"  It  would  almost  seem  as  though  I  were  describing 
another  person.  My  old  self  seems  so  far  away  and 
the  old  periods  of  depression  and  agony  are  like  a  bad 
dream  from  which  I  have  awakened.  The  old  sense  of 
unreality  and  the  feeling  that  I  was  alone,  an  exception 
to  the  rest  of  humanity,  is  a  thing  of  the  past.  Now 
I  found  the  old,  morbid,  dismal  thoughts  and  habits 
which  had  become  automatic  and  thoughtless,  had  been 
replaced  by  exactly  the  opposite  thoughts  and  habits, 
and  these  are  becoming  more  and  more  automatic  and 
thoughtless." 

Another  patient  described  the  neurasthenic 
state  as  follows: 

"  I  am  torn  to  pieces,  I  almost  can  feel  every  blood 
cell.     I  was  much  fatigued  when  I  woke  up  this  morn- 


878        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

ing.     I  am  just  dead  tired  and  trembling  and  shaking 
all  over." 


One  of  the  most  striking  facts  about  the  neu- 
rasthenic state  is  the  automatic  character  of  the 
symptoms.  The  continual  self -analysis  and  the 
diminution  of  lack  of  outside  interests  tend  to 
keep  up  these  symptoms.  The  patient  becomes 
obsessed  by  the  idea  of  fatigue,  that  he  must  not 
overdo.  In  this  state  of  weakened  synthesis, 
the  most  unstable  psychical  elements  develop. 
All  the  principal  neurasthenic  symptoms,  such 
as  fatigue,  the  fleeting  pains,  the  headache, 
sleeplessness,  sense  of  muscular  weakness,  can 
be  explained  on  a  psychological  basis.  In 
neurasthenia,  as  in  hysteria,  there  is  a  narrow- 
ing of  the  field  of  personal  consciousness. 

The  symptoms  of  neurasthenia  are  manifold. 
Since  a  minute  description  is  beyond  the  scope 
of  this  discussion,  we  will  mention  very  briefly 
the  principal  symptoms  of  neurasthenia.  One 
of  the  most  prominent  complaints  is  a  sense  of 
fatigue,  which  is  very  slightly  or  not  at  all  modi- 
fied by  rest,  as  most  neurasthenics  are  decidedly 
more  fatigued  in  the  morning,  even  if  they  have 
slept  well  during  the  night.  The  fatigue  is 
probably  not  a  real  fatigue,  but  a  false  one. 
Neurasthenics,  when  under  stress  of  a  painful 
emotion,  either  lose  their  sense  of  fatigue  or 


NEURASTHENIA  S79 

cease  to  pay  any  further  attention  to  it.  A 
sense  of  fatigue  which  extends  over  a  num- 
ber of  years,  as  we  see  it  in  many  neuras- 
thenics, which  is  not  improved  by  rest,  and 
which  fails  to  cause  collapse  or  a  physical 
breakdown,  cannot  be  identical  with  normal, 
physiological  fatigue.  According  to  Harten- 
berg '  the  fatigue  of  neurasthenia  is  merely  the 
consciousness  of  the  muscular  weakness  of  this 
disease.  This  diminution  of  muscular  energy 
and  its  rapid  exhaustion  in  neurasthenia  may  be 
measured  with  the  ergograph.  By  means  of 
this  instrument  it  can  be  demonstrated  that 
muscular  fatigue  sets  in  very  quickly,  although 
the  amount  of  energy  may  at  first  be  equal  to 
that  of  normal  individuals.  The  diminution  and 
the  inhibition  of  muscular  activity  in  neuras- 
thenic states  can  be  gradually  overcome  through 
continued  work,  a  kind  of  process  known  in 
psychology  as  "  warming  up."  This  is  one  of 
the  reasons  for  the  therapeutic  benefit  derived 
from  mild  exercise  in  neurasthenia. 

Depression,  dull  headaches,  and  sleeplessness 
are  quite  common  in  neurasthenia,  the  insomnia 
being  due,  in  part  at  least,  to  a  fixed  idea.  The 
neurasthenic  frequently  misinterprets  his  phys- 
ical distress  and  pains  and  thus  becomes  de- 
cidedly   hypochondriacal,  imagining  that  he  is 

*  p.  Hartenberg:  "  Psychologic  des  Neurasth^niques,"  Paris,  1908. 


880       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

suffering  from  all  kinds  of  incurable  diseases. 
The  weakness  of  attention  means  to  them  a 
loss  of  memory;  headache  spells  an  incurable 
brain  disease,  etc.  Most  so-called  "  nervous 
dyspepsias "  are  merely  symptoms  of  neuras- 
thenia. Recent  work  on  the  effect  of  various 
emotions  on  the  gastric-intestinal  tract  has 
led  us  to  believe  that  many  of  these  "  nervous 
dyspepsias  "  are  purely  mental  in  origin.  The 
mechanism  of  these  false  cases  of  "  nervous 
indigestion "  has  already  been  elaborated 
upon,  in  the  chapter  on  the  emotions,  so 
that  it  is  unnecessary  to  repeat  the  discussion 
here. 

Abnormal  organic  sensations  frequently  arise 
in  neurasthenia,  such  as  a  feeling  of  depersonal- 
ization, numbness  in  the  limbs,  a  subjective 
sense  of  muscular  twitching,  palpitation  of  the 
heart,  a  sense  of  emptiness  in  the  head,  or  at- 
tacks of  great  anxiety,  seemingly  localized 
around  the  heart.  Sometimes  physical  compli- 
cations referable  to  a  poor  circulation  of  blood 
are  present,  such  as  a  rapid  pulse,  flushing  of 
the  face,  dizziness,  tremor  of  the  tongue  and 
hands.    As  a  rule,  the  reflexes  are  increased. 

States  of  mental  anxiety,  termed  an  anxiety 
neurosis,  frequently  occur  in  neurasthenia  and 
may  be  traced  to  abnormal  manifestations  of 
reactions  to  the  sexual  life.     These  states  of 


NEURASTHENIA  381 

anxiety  strongly  resemble  the  phobias  of  the 
psychasthenic  neurosis;  in  fact,  the  phobia  is 
often  merely  a  protector  from  an  outbreak  of 
anxiety.  These  anxiety  neuroses  arise  on  a 
sexual  basis  and  result  from  suppressed  sexual 
excitement  which  becomes  deflected  and  is  mani- 
fested mentally  as  morbid  anxiety  and  phys- 
ically as  the  bodily  accompaniment  of  this.  In 
the  compulsion  neuroses  too,  attacks  of  anxiety 
may  result  from  sexual  reproaches  in  childhood 
which  have  been  conserved  in  the  unconscious. 

The  recent  application  of  psycho-analytic 
methods  to  the  treatment  of  stammering,  has 
demonstrated  that  this  speech  disturbance  is 
one  of  the  protean  forms  of  an  anxiety  neurosis 
and  not  merely  a  tic  or  spastic  neurosis  of  co- 
ordination originating  in  childhood  on  a  strong 
hereditary  basis.  All  who  have  observed  and 
treated  cases  of  stammering  have  been  impressed 
by  one  significant  fact,  namely,  that  in  the  large 
majority  of  instances  the  child  did  not  begin  to 
stammer  until  it  had  been  talking  freely  and 
normally  for  several  years.  It  is  a  significant 
fact  too,  that  all  stammerers  show  a  dread  of 
speaking  with  a  feeling  of  inhibition  only  in 
certain  situations,  in  fact,  a  genuine  attack  of 
anxiety,  and  these  psychic  accompaniments  of 
stammering  can  frequently  be  overcome  by  some 
form  of  suggestive  therapy.    In  stammering  we 


382       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

are  dealing,  therefore,  with  a  form  of  morbid 
anxiety  due  to  unconscious  emotional  com- 
plexes, probably  early  childhood  memories. 
Many  cases  of  stammering  show  excessive 
timidity  and  embarrassment  in  childhood,  which 
on  analysis  will  sometimes  be  found  to  arise  out 
of  erotic  fantasies.  In  fact,  in  a  case  of  stam- 
mering in  an  adult,  which  I  had  occasion  to 
treat,  certain  elements  of  infantile  speech  were 
actually  preserved.  In  another  case  of  stam- 
mering which  I  had  occasion  to  submit  to  the 
psycho-analytic  treatment,  it  could  be  demon- 
strated that  the  speech  disturbance  was  a  re- 
action of  defence,  in  order  to  keep  from  con- 
sciousness painful  memories  and  undesirable 
thoughts  by  repressing  these  into  the  uncon- 
scious. This  manifested  itself  particularly  upon 
certain  words  and  letters,  proving  that  patho- 
genic memory  complexes  from  early  childhood 
caused  the  stammering  and  that  the  speech 
neurosis  was  not  due  to  a  mere  phonetic  diffi- 
culty. Since  stammering  is  due  to  unconscious 
influences,  the  proper  treatment  is  psychologi- 
cal, directed  to  remove  the  deeply-rooted  dread 
or  anxiety  from  the  unconscious.  This  is  best 
accomplished  through  psycho-analysis,  which  re- 
moves the  baneful  influence  of  the  unconscious 
complexes  upon  speech. 

It  must  not  be   supposed,   because   neuras- 


NEURASTHENIA  38S 

thenia  is  one  form  of  a  mental  dissociation,  that 
psychotherapy  must  be  used  in  the  treatment 
of  the  disease  to  the  exclusion  of  everything 
else.  While  a  certain  amount  of  emphasis 
should  be  placed  on  psychotherapy,  yet  phys- 
ical treatment  must  not  be  neglected.  This 
physical  treatment  helps  to  remedy  the  abnormal 
organic  sensations  which  make  the  mind  of  the 
neurasthenic  so  miserable,  and  thus,  in  its  way, 
it  has  a  beneficial  psychotherapeutic  effect. 
This  explains  the  efficacy  of  electricity,  massage, 
modified  rest,  hydrotherapy,  certain  drugs,  in 
the  treatment  of  neurasthenia.  There  is  no  one 
panacea  for  the  treatment  of  the  neurasthenic 
state,  no  universal  remedy  which  will  overcome 
the  fatigue,  depression,  or  anxiety,  or  which  will 
make  the  dissociated  consciousness  whole  again. 
The  treatment  of  the  neurasthenic  is  a  delicate 
problem,  the  individual  must  be  studied  as  well 
as  the  disease,  and  success  can  be  achieved  only 
by  a  judicious  combination  of  mental  and  phys- 
ical methods.  Above  all,  the  neurasthenic  needs 
re-education,  but  whether  this  re-education 
should  be  simple  or  complex  is  dependent  on 
many  factors. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

PSYCHO-EPILEPTIC  ATTACKS 

Recently  it  has  been  recognized  there  occa- 
sionally occur  conditions  which  stimulate  at- 
tacks of  real  epilepsy.  On  close  analysis,  how- 
ever, it  is  found  that  these  attacks  have  only  a 
superficial  resemblance  to  epilepsy,  and  that 
they  are  purely  functional  in  nature.  In  all 
probability  such  conditions  represent  certain 
types  of  dissociations  of  consciousness.  These 
attacks  are  known  as  psycho- epilepsy,  a  name 
which  indicates  the  purely  psychical  and  func- 
tional nature  of  the  attacks  and  their  differentia- 
tion from  true,  organic  epilepsy.  Whether  the 
condition  should  be  classed  under  hysteria,  or 
as  an  episode  in  the  course  of  a  psychasthenic 
neurosis,  is  still  an  open  question.  The  subject 
is  an  important  one,  however,  because  accounts 
are  frequently  published  by  the  medico-religious 
cults  and  others,  of  the  cure  of  epilepsy  through 
purely  psychotherapeutic  methods.  These  so- 
called  epileptic  attacks  are  undoubtedly  of  a 
psycho-epileptic  character,  as  genuine  epilepsy 
is  an  organic  disease  which  only  simulates  a 

884 


PSYCHO-EPILEPTIC  ATTACKS  385 

functional  disorder  and  which  does  not  yield  to 
any  form  of  psychotherapy. 

These  psycho-epileptic  attacks  seem  to  be  of 
several  varieties.  They  may  take  the  form  of 
genuine  convulsions,  so  far  as  the  outward  ap- 
pearance is  concerned,  these  convulsions  being 
either  general  or  more  rarely  limited  to  a  special 
part  of  the  body.  In  one  of  my  cases,  the  right 
arm  alone  was  involved  in  the  psycho-epileptic 
attack  and  the  purely  functional  nature  of  the 
disorder  was  proven  through  a  searching  anal- 
ysis of  the  condition  and  its  final  cure  through 
psychotherapeutic  methods.  In  other  conditions 
the  attack  may  consist  of  a  momentary  confu- 
sion, intense  anxiety,  or  even  a  feeHng  of  deper- 
sonalization. This  type  may  or  may  not  be  asso- 
ciated with  a  sense  of  unreahty.  One  patient 
described  his  condition  "as  if  my  personahty 
was  gone.  I  see,  hear,  walk,  converse,  my  men- 
tahty^  goes  on,  but  the  thing  I  call  I,  is 
changed."  There  is  still  a  third  form  which 
these  attacks  seem  to  assume,  a  form  which  can 
be  clearly  differentiated  from  the  other  two. 
Here  the  attacks  consist  of  pecuhar  momentary 
feehngs  of  depression  or  numbness,  without  any 
loss  or  diminution  of  consciousness,  and  passing 
in  a  wave-like  manner  from  one  portion  of  the 
body  to  the  other.  Here  the  associated  mental 
state  is  either  anxiety,  depression,  or  fear. 


886       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

Now  the  important  question  arises — ^how  can 
we  distinguish  these  conditions  from  genuine 
epilepsy?  When  we  come  to  consider  the  con- 
vulsions, we  find  that  there  is  usually  no  history 
of  epilepsy  or  fainting  attacks  in  early  youth. 
The  attacks  may  be  induced  by  emotional  stress 
or  mental  or  physical  exertion.  The  seizures 
are  of  the  nature  of  states  of  mental  dissociation, 
which  recur  automatically  and  have  an  independ- 
ent activity.  The  genesis  of  the  individual 
attacks  is  usually  some  emotional  experience. 
Furthermore,  the  memory  for  the  attacks  is  only 
apparently  lost  and  may  be  recovered  through 
appropriate  psychological  methods,  either  in  its 
entirety  or  as  isolated  fragments.  So  far  as 
my  experience  with  amnesia  is  concerned,  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  restore  the  amnesic  periods 
in  genuine,  organic  epilepsy.  Finally,  most  im- 
portant of  all,  it  is  possible  to  reproduce  an 
attack  automatically.  In  one  case  in  which  the 
fit  consisted  of  a  spasm  of  the  left  arm,  an  at- 
tack was  reproduced  when  the  subject  was 
placed  in  a  state  of  abstraction.  There  is  never 
an  impairment  of  intellect  or  memory  in  these 
conditions,  no  matter  how  frequent  the  attacks 
may  be,  whereas  one  of  the  important  signs  of 
genuine  epilepsy  is  a  gradual  deterioration  of 
the  intellect  and  memory. 

When  the  attacks  consist  merely  of  periodic 


PSYCHO-EPILEPTIC  ATTACKS  887 

anxiety  and  depression  they  can  frequently  be 
reproduced  at  will  by  allowing  the  mind  to  dwell 
upon  the  attacks  and  can  even  be  prevented  by 
directing  the  mind  along  other  channels.  The 
feeling  of  depersonalization,  of  unreality,  the 
possibility  of  artificial  reproduction  of  the  at- 
tacks and  of  the  artificial  recovery  of  the  am- 
nesic period,  shows  that  we  are  probably  deal- 
ing with  a  process  of  mental  dissociation,  in  the 
form  of  automatic  upheavals  or  uprushings  from 
the  subconscious,  entirely  removed  from  the 
domain  of  the  will. 

So  we  see  that  these  conditions  may  be  dif- 
ferentiated from  genuine  epilepsy,  although  it 
must  be  admitted  that  this  differentiation  is  dif- 
ficult and  only  possible  through  close  study  and 
analysis.  The  purely  psychic  character  of  the 
attacks  is  shown  in  their  origin  in  anxiety  or 
other  emotions,  the  complete  or  abortive  per- 
sistence of  the  anxiety  in  the  attacks,  the  cleav- 
age of  the  personality,  their  automatic  character, 
and  the  possibility  of  their  artificial  reproduction 
or  the  artificial  synthesis  of  the  lost  memory  for 
the  attack.  The  condition  may  be  cured  by 
some  form  of  psychotherapy,  either  suggestion 
or  the  synthesis  of  the  dissociated  state.  In 
the  disease  called  psychasthenia,  there  frequently 
occur  attacks  of  intense  dreaminess  and  unreal- 
ity, beginning  and  ending  suddenly,  which  are 


888        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

closely  related  to  the  condition  of  psycho- 
epilepsy,  if  indeed  they  are  not  identical  with 
it.  In  fact,  there  are  certain  features  in  common 
between  psycho-epilepsy  and  these  psychasthenic 
attacks.  These  attacks  are  called  psycholeptic 
crises  and  have  been  already  discussed  in  the 
chapter  devoted  to  psychasthenia.  Likewise  in 
hysteria,  localized  or  general  convulsions  may 
occur,  which  strongly  simulate  a  real  epilepsy. 
Gowers  ^  has  described  psycho-epileptic  attacks, 
the  symptoms  consisting  principally  of  periodic 
attacks  of  intense  fear  or  of  intense  depression, 
usually  beginning  and  ending  suddenly,  but  of 
more  or  less  protracted  duration.  After  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  condition,  he  asks  the  rather 
pertinent  question — whether  this  prolonged 
mental  state  represents  a  condition  of  the  brain 
which,  if  compressed  into  a  moment,  would  have 
involved  a  loss  of  consciousness?  The  answer  to 
this  important  question  can  only  be  determined 
by  further  analysis  of  cases  of  psycho-epilepsy. 
Brief  reports  of  a  few  cases  which  came  under 
personal  observation  will  serve  to  make  this 
subject  clearer. 

The  first  case  is  that  of  a  young  woman, 
seventeen  years  of  age,  who  for  two  years  had 
suffered  from  peculiar  "  staring  spells,"  which 
would  come  on  and  end  suddenly,  and  were  un- 

*"The  Borderland  of  Epilepsjr,"  1907. 


PSYCHO-EPILEPTIC  ATTACKS  389 

associated  with  any  definite  warning  or  aura. 
There  was  no  dizziness  or  loss  of  consciousness 
in  the  attacks.  For  several  months  before  com- 
ing under  observation  she  had  been  subject  every 
morning  to  different  attacks  of  the  following 
description.  On  being  awakened  and  after  fully 
awake  for  a  minute  or  two,  she  would  suddenly 
have  an  attack  consisting  of  an  indistinct  blub- 
bering, followed  immediately  by  a  spasm  of  the 
left  arm  which  would  take  an  ill-directed  reach- 
ing attitude  as  if  grasping  for  something.  The 
eyes  would  be  wide  open  and  staring  and  there 
was  complete  loss  of  consciousness.  The  attack 
would  cease  abruptly  when  the  patient  was 
sharply  spoken  to  or  when  she  was  roughly  shaken. 
There  was  complete  amnesia  for  the  attack 
and  also  for  the  short  period  after  being  awak- 
ened (retrograde  amnesia).  For  several  months 
these  attacks  had  occurred  every  morning  with  a 
clock-like  precision,  always  on  awakening  and 
always  in  an  identical  manner.  There  was  no 
foaming  at  the  mouth  or  biting  of  the  tongue. 
Once,  while  the  patient  was  placed  in  abstraction 
by  listening  to  a  monotonous  sound  stimulus,  an 
attack  developed  which  in  every  way  corre- 
sponded to  the  description.  There  were  no 
special  dreams,  while  the  association  tests  jrielded 
nothing  of  value.  Recovery  took  place  under 
psychotherapeutic  methods. 


390       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

In  another  patient  the  attacks  consisted  of 
a  wavelike,  "  deathly  sensation,"  starting  on 
the  left  side  of  the  abdomen,  thence  ascending  to 
the  left  side  of  the  head  and  then  descending 
down  the  left  arm,  ending  usually  in  a  numbness 
and  tingling  of  the  fingers  of  the  left  hand. 
The  entire  attack  was  short,  lasting  usually 
for  one-half  to  one  minute,  and  sometimes,  but 
not  always,  followed  by  a  feeling  of  drowsiness. 
In  the  attacks  there  was  no  feeling  of  unreality 
nor  of  depersonalization,  consciousness  was  un- 
affected, the  left  arm  and  leg  could  be  moved; 
in  fact,  an  attack  would  occasionally  come  on 
while  she  was  sewing,  but  without  any  inter- 
ruption of  the  act.  Most  of  the  attacks  oc- 
curred during  the  day,  although  occasionally  an 
attack  would  take  place  at  night  and  awaken 
her.  There  was  never  any  loss  of  memory  for 
the  attacks  and  no  feeling  of  anxiety  or  depres- 
sion preceding  them. 

The  effect  of  an  emotional  experience  in  caus- 
ing psycho-epileptic  attacks  is  well  shown  in 
the  following  case.  A  year  previous  to  coming 
under  observation,  the  patient  witnessed  a  Jew- 
ish massacre  in  one  of  the  Russian  cities.  She 
hid  in  a  cellar  for  eight  days  in  a  state  of  great 
fear,  and  once,  when  the  cellar  door  was 
slammed  on  an  approaching  mob,  she  immedi- 
ately had  a  convulsive  attack.    Ever  since,  par- 


PSYCHO-EPILEPTIC  ATTACKS  SQl 

ticularly  when  the  eyes  were  closed,  she  would 
see  horrible  scenes  of  the  massacre  before  her 
and  a  convulsion  would  follow.  Once  she 
dreamed  of  the  massacre,  at  another  time  that 
her  husband  had  been  killed  by  the  mob,  and 
on  both  occasions  she  awoke  in  a  convulsion. 
Again  we  have  here  the  production  of  a  psycho- 
epileptic  attack  through  association  of  ideas. 


CHAPTER  IX 


COLORED    HEAEING 


Colored  hearing  may  be  defined  as  a  condi- 
tion in  which  certain  sounds  (such  as  vowels 
or  musical  tones)  produce  a  simultaneous  sen- 
sation of  a  certain  definite  color.  In  other 
words,  there  is  a  deflection  of  sensation  from 
one  sensory  organ  to  a  different  sensory  centre 
in  the  brain,  due  either  to  an  abnormal  irradia- 
tion or  spreading  of  the  sensory  impulse  or  to 
a  strong  emotional  association  dating  from  early 
childhood.  The  entire  group  of  phenomena  is 
termed  a  synesthesia.  There  may  be  different 
types  of  synesthesia  corresponding  to  the  dif- 
ferent sensory  end-organs  stimulated,  such  as 
colored  hearing,  colored  taste,  or  colored  pain. 
The  condition  is  a  rare  one,  and  therefore  the 
number  of  carefully  studied  cases  has  been 
limited. 

In  one  of  Marinesco's  cases  ^  the  subject  was 
a  woman,  thirty-five .  years  of  age,  with  some 
neuropathic  heredity,  in  whom  the  synaesthesia 

*  G.  Marincsco:  "Contribution  k  l']&tude  des  Synesth&ies, 
Particuliferement  de  1' Audition  Color6e." — Journal  de  Psychologie 
Normal  et  Pathologique. — Sept.-Oct.,  1912. 

392 


COLORED  HEARING  SPS 

first  made  its  appearance  at  about  the  age  of 
six.  At  this  period  her  own  name  "  Marie " 
was  gray  to  her,  while  that  of  her  sister, 
"  Jeanne,"  always  produced  a  sensation  of  blue. 
She  would  often  compare  the  pretty  color  of  her 
sister's  name  with  the  "  ugly  "  color  sensation 
caused  by  her  own  name.  As  with  most  sub- 
jects afflicted  with  colored  hearing,  up  to  the 
age  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  she  did  not  have  the 
slightest  doubt  but  that  everyone  experienced 
a  sensation  of  color  on  hearing  a  spoken  word. 
At  this  period  she  heard  of  colored  hearing  and 
began  to  realize  for  the  first  time  that  the  phe- 
nomenon was  not  a  common  one. 

In  this  case  the  colors  associated  with  words 
and  sounds  were  clear  and  in  some  instances 
quite  intense,  sometimes  opaque  and  sometimes 
semi-transparent.  Certain  words  were  described 
"  as  transparent  as  water,"  for  example  the 
word  "  Ana "  was  a  transparent  bluish-green 
"  like  an  opal."  The  color  sensations  were  ex- 
teriorized, usually  in  the  form  of  either  a  regu- 
lar or  irregular  geometrical  figure  or  resembling 
cloud-like  masses  of  color.  Certain  vowels  and 
words  produced  merely  colored  masses.  Ab- 
stract terms  were  colored  more  intensely  than 
concrete  expressions.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  certain  colors  were  more  prominent  in  cer- 
tain languages,  for  instance,  rose  in  Roumanian, 


394        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

yellow  in  English,  black  in  German,  and  yellow- 
ish-white in  French.  The  noise  of  the  wind 
was  "  gray,"  the  music  of  Wagner  "  gray  and 
yellow,"  while  the  music  of  Chopin  was  desig- 
nated as  "  luminous."  Poetry  also  produced 
certain  colors  which  varied  according  to  the  dif- 
ferent poets;  for  instance,  the  verses  of  Baude- 
laire were  described  as  "  less  luminous  "  than 
those  of  Lamartine. 

Many  of  the  colors  of  words  were  due  to  pre- 
dominance of  the  color  of  a  certain  letter  or  a 
mixture  of  the  individual  letters  constituting  the 
word.  Colored  thinking  was  likewise  present. 
The  synaesthesia  also  comprised  the  sense  of 
smell,  in  that  music  gave  the  impression  of  per- 
fume, for  instance  funeral  marches  produced  a 
smell  of  chrysanthemums  or  tube-roses.  It 
appears  that  there  exists  a  mathematical  or 
physiological  relationship  or  association  between 
the  different  sounds  and  their  corresponding 
colors.  In  many  instances  the  synsesthesia  con- 
sisted of  a  mixture  of  two  or  more  colors,  rather 
than  an  elementary  sensation  corresponding  to 
the  primary  colors  of  the  spectrum.  The  color 
of  the  word  may  be  due  to  a  mixture  of  the 
individual  colors  of  the  several  vowels  and  con- 
sonants which  constitute  the  word.  In  some 
instances,  on  the  contrary,  a  word  will  have  the 
single  color  of  the  predominating  hue  of  one 


COLORED  HEARING  395 

of  its  vowels ;  for  example,  the  word  "  Ion  "  in 
one  case  was  designated  as  "  yellow  "  because  the 
elementary  vowel  "  o"  produced  a  sensation  of 
"  yellow." 

There  are  two  types  of  colored  hearing;  the 
first  or  most  frequent  in  which  a  sensation  of 
color  is  merely  perceived,  and  the  second,  by 
far  the  less  frequent,  in  which  the  colored 
images  are  intensely  exteriorized  in  regular  or 
irregular  geometrical  forms,  a  kind  of  hallu- 
cinatory colored  hearing.  Long  words  seem 
to  produce  larger  colored  images  than  short 
words. 

According  to  Flournoy's  classification,  there 
are  three  divisions  of  visual  synaesthesia  (colored 
hearing),  viz.: — 

1.  Photisms  (luminous  or  colored). 

2.  Figures   (symbols  or  diagrams). 

8.    Personifications  (things  or  persons). 

Concerning  the  intensity  of  the  images,  Flour- 
noy  distinguishes  the  following  various  degrees: 
simple  ideas  of  color  or  of  figures  (first  degree)  ; 
clearer  images,  more  "  felt  "  (second  degree)  ; 
clear  images,  localized  inside  or  outside  of  the 
head  (inferior  stage  of  the  second  degree) ;  per- 
ceptions or  actual  hallucinations  objectively 
localized  (superior  stage  of  the  second-class, 
the   chroma tiseurs). 

A  matter  of  importance  is  concerned  with  the 


396        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

question, — whether  colored  hearing  is  a  nor- 
mal physiological  phenomenon  arising  from 
the  peculiar  psychological  make-up  of  the 
afflicted  individual,  or  a  pathological  condition? 
Only  a  few  cases  have  been  recorded  in  which 
the  subjects  of  colored  hearing  were  markedly 
free  from  nervous  or  mental  symptoms  during 
the  greater  part  of  their  lives,  and  developed 
a  mental  disease  before  death.  It  seems,  there- 
fore, that  the  synesthesias  are  neither  pathologi- 
cal phenomena  nor  manifestations  of  a  so- 
called  degeneration.  The  condition  is  probably 
a  psychological  phenomenon,  whose  mechanism 
at  present  is  not  clearly  understood,  as  shown  by 
the  various  theories  which  have  been  put  forth 
to  explain  the  condition.  Histological  and 
physiological  data  have  shown  that  the  color 
sensations  of  the  synesthesias  do  not  take  place 
in  the  nerve  elements  of  the  retina,  but  rather 
in  the  visual  centers  of  the  brain.  Four  prin- 
cipal hypotheses  have  been  put  forth  to  explain 
the  condition,  as  follows: — 

(1)  Incomplete  anatomical  differentiation  of 
the  sense  of  vision  and  audition  or  rather  of 
their  cortical  centers.  (Embryological  hy- 
pothesis. ) 

(2)  There  may  exist  special  anastomoses  be- 
tween the  cortical  centers  of  sight  and  hearing, 
in  which,  after  auditory  perception,  the  visual 


COLORED  HEARING  397 

center  thereby  becomes  simultaneously  stimu- 
lated. 

(3)  The  theory  of  nerve  irradiation,  in  which 
the  stimulation  of  one  center  passes  over  the 
others,  varying  with  the  individual  and  with 
the  intensity  of  the  sensation  provoked.  (Fech- 
ner. ) 

(4)  The  psychological  theory,  based  upon 
the  emotional  value  of  certain  associations 
called  forth  by  the  word  or  sound  heard  or 
thought.  (Floumoy.)  Recent  psycho-analytic 
investigations  have  also  traced  the  genesis  of 
colored  hearing  to  certain  unconscious  sexual 
complexes  arising  in  childhood.  (H.  V.  Hug- 
Hellmuth  and  O.  Pfister.) 

In  a  case  which  came  under  personal  obser- 
vation ^  the  various  synaesthesias  encountered 
(colored  hearing  and  thinking,  taste  synsesthesia) 
while  limited  in  their  scope  yet  were  quite  in- 
tense. The  subject  was  an  intelligent  woman 
forty-one  years  of  age,  of  a  decided  visual  type. 
The  sjTisesthesia  could  be  traced  back  to  the 
earliest  years  of  childhood.  Physically  the  sub- 
ject was  in  perfect  condition.  There  was  no 
psychopathic  or  neuropathic  heredity  and  no 
similar  synaesthetic  disorder  existing  in  any 
member  of  the  family.    She  does  not  remember 

'  Isador   H.   Coriat:  "A  Case  of  Synesthesia." — Journal  Aif 
normal  P»ychology.—\ol.  VIII.,  No.  1,  191S. 


398        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

the  time  when  she  did  not  have  the  colored 
hearing  and  thinking. 

In  this  subject  the  synaesthesia  was  rather 
rudimentary  and  limited  in  its  scope,  in  that 
only  one  color,  blue  in  its  various  shades,  was 
distinctly  suggested  by  sounds.  The  shade  of 
the  color  varied  according  to  the  sounds  or 
thoughts.  She  remembered  that  once,  when  very 
young,  she  was  given  a  doll  dressed  in  blue. 
She  immediately  named  her  "  Lucy  Blue,"  while 
her  sister's  doll,  which  was  dressed  in  red,  she 
gave  the  name  "  Lucy  Red."  Her  sister  could 
not  seem  to  comprehend  this  linking  of  a  color 
with  a  name.  Pieces  of  colored  glass  delighted 
her,  while  a  kaleidoscope  always  produced  a 
feeling  of  great  satisfaction.  Red  sunsets 
were  depressing;  to  use  the  subject's  expres- 
sion, "  they  were  so  beautiful  that  they 
hurt." 

Certain  sounds  were  blue  and  the  principal 
words  associated  with  the  colored  hearing  were 
as  follows: — 

"  Nellie  " — pale  blue,  an  unlimited  sky  blue 
(spatial  sense). 

"  Lucy  " — a  clear  sapphire. 

"  Bertha  " — a  deep  Prussian  blue. 

Sometimes  "  Nellie "  is  described  as  "  pale, 
soft  blue,  but  very  clear." 

Further  analysis  demonstrated,  that  the  pre- 


COLORED  HEARING  399 

dominating  color  of  these  three  words  was  pro- 
duced by  the  color  of  a  combined  vowel  and 
consonant  within  the  word.  For  instance,  in 
"  Lucy,"  the  sound  "  loo "  caused  the  color; 
in  "  Nellie,"  "  el "  produced  the  predominating 
color  effect,  while  in  "  Bertha  "  the  letters  "  er  " 
colored  the  word.  "  L  "  alone  without  the  vowel, 
or  "  R  "  alone,  did  not  produce  a  blue  sensation. 
It  seemed,  therefore,  that  the  vowel  sounds 
were  the  instigators  of  the  synaesthesia,  although 
why  the  letter  "  E  "  produced  a  pale  blue  color 
in  one  case  and  a  Prussian  blue  in  the  other, 
could  not  be  determined.  Strangely  enough 
the  French  words  "  Berthe,"  "  allemand,"  and 
"  berceau,"  although  containing  the  same  vowel 
combination,  produced  no  color  sensation,  al- 
though "  Berthe  "  appeared  "  higher  "  (to  use 
the  subject's  description)  than  "  Bertha."  Un- 
like other  reported  cases,  therefore,  particularly 
the  one  studied  by  Marinesco,  the  synaesthesia 
was  limited  to  the  phonetic  combinations  of  one 
language,  in  this  case,  English. 

Conversely,  showing  the  subject  a  blue  or  red 
disc,  such  as  those  used  for  taking  the  field  of 
vision,  produced  no  association  with  a  word 
or  sound.  Tests  with  a  timing  fork  and  watch 
demonstrated  hearing  to  be  normal.  A  (long) 
is  not  colored,  but  sounds  "  cool."  The  long 
vowels  suggested  position  on  a  chromatic  scale. 


400       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

rather  than  color,  but  these  positions  were  not 
very  clear  to  her.    For  instance: 

a  =  do 

e  =  re 

1  =  do  (second  octave) 

The  vowel  sounds  also  produced  other  sensa- 
tion, as  follows: 

a  =  cool  sound 

a  =  no   sound 

e  =  high  cool  sound 

S  =  no  sound 

1  =  very  high  sound 

i  =  no  sound 

Long  and  short  u,  produced  no  sensation. 

Numbers  never  produced  colors  in  her,  but 
she  always  associated  the  cardinal  numbers  with 
a  sort  of  visualized  geometrical  line  arrange- 
ment, i.e.,  ascending  up  to  twenty,  dropping  to 
ten,  and  then  gradually  ascending  again.  The 
days  of  the  week  and  the  names  of  the  months 
produced  no  colors.  "  Sunday,"  however,  ap- 
peared "  taller  "  than  other  days.  All  the  other 
days  of  the  week  were  of  uniform  height  except 
"  Saturday,"  which  is  "  half  as  tall "  as  "  Sun- 
day." The  seasons  of  the  year  were  always 
peculiarly  symbolized  by  a  spiral  spring,  oval 
in  shape,  the  ends  indicating  spring  and  autumn, 
the  sides  the  summer  and  winter.  Music  pro- 
duced an  intoxicating  effect  on  her,  but  did  not 


COLORED  HEARING  401 

stimulate  colors.  Separate  notes  of  the  scale 
and  the  sounds  of  various  musical  instruments 
failed  to  produce  colors. 

Tests  with  the  normal  spectrum  gave  inter- 
esting results  in  emotional  states  produced  by- 
colors: 


Color 

Emotional  States 

Purple, 

Repulsive  and  depressive. 

Blue, 

Not  satisfied. 

Green, 

Not  satisfied. 

Yellow, 

Flash  of  light. 

Red, 

Nothing. 

The  word  "  Bertha  "  was  localized  in  the  blue- 
purple  end  of  the  spectrum.  No  color  was 
strong  enough  for  "  Lucy  "  or  light  enough  for 
"  Nellie." 

Both  hearing  the  words  and  vowels  and  the 
thinking  of  them  produced  the  same  sensation  of 
color ;  therefore,  colored  thinking  was  present  in 
addition  to  colored  hearing.  An  interesting 
gustatory  synaesthesia  (colored  taste)  was  also 
present,  but  not  to  the  extent  of  a  genuine  sen- 
sation. A  quotation  from  Ruskin  has  always 
appealed  to  her: — "We  should  love  beautiful 
colors  as  a  child  loves  good  things  to  eat." 
Beautiful  colors  have  always  '*  tasted  good  "  to 
her,  while  color  discords  were  nauseating  and 


402        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

produced  the  effect  of  a  blow.  She  expressed 
the  condition  as  follows :  "  If  I  like  a  color,  it 
leaves  a  delightful  taste  in  my  mouth,  like  the 
sensation  when  one  thinks  of  beautiful  food,"  or 
"  when  I  put  my  mind  intently  on  the  colors  I 
taste  them.  I  can  taste  blue."  There  was  no 
olfactory  synaBsthesia.  Direct  tests  of  smell  and 
taste  proved  the  olfactory  and  gustatory  sensa- 
tions to  be  normal,  but  these  tests  did  not  stimu- 
late any  photisms.  This  taste  synsesthesia  was 
less  intense  than  the  colored  hearing  or  thinking. 
An  analysis  of  the  synsesthesia  itself,  par- 
ticularly the  colored  hearing,  gave  some  inter- 
esting results.  The  synsesthesia  had  not  varied 
since  it  was  first  noticed  during  the  earliest 
years  of  childhood.  It  was  purely  a  waking 
process  and  not  due  to  unconscious  associations 
of  sounds  with  colors  dating  from  the  earliest 
years  of  life.  This  was  shown  by  two  facts: 
first,  that  in  the  subject's  dreams  sounds  have 
never  been  associated  with  colors,  and  second, 
because  an  analysis  conducted  in  the  abstraction 
through  means  of  free  association  procedures 
gave  negative  results.  That  the  phenomenon 
was  a  cortical  one,  possibly  physiological,  is 
shown  by  the  facts  that  neither  positive  nor 
negative  after-images  could  be  produced  with 
colors  of  the  synaesthesia,  and  secondly,  the  col- 
ors were  always  seen  in  the  left  half  of  each 


COLORED  HEARING  403 

visual  field,  but  not  exteriorized.  The  color  was 
always  definite,  distinct,  and  invariable,  and  the 
same  sound  or  word  was  always  associated 
with  the  same  color.  The  color  and  sound 
occurred  simultaneously  and  instantly,  the  sound 
seemed  to  "  melt "  (to  use  the  subject's  expres- 
sion) into  the  color.  A  reversion  of  the  process, 
that  is,  by  thinking  of  the  specific  color,  never 
produced  the  word  or  sound  associated  with 
that  particular  color.  The  vowels  in  the  words 
designated,  and  not  the  consonants,  were  the 
instigators  of  the  photism.  Closing  of  the  eyes 
did  not  increase  the  intensity  of  the  images 
produced.  The  color  was  very  luminous,  would 
persist  for  some  time  after  she  had  ceased 
hearing  the  word  or  thinking  it,  and  was 
not  of  definite  shape  or  size,  but  rather  like 
a  "  puddle,"  shading  off  a  little  at  the 
edges. 

To  summarize  briefly,  we  seem  to  be  dealing 
with  a  limited  but  intense  synaesthesia  probably 
congenital  in  origin  and  remaining  unchanged 
since  childhood.  There  was  no  heredity  or 
familial  tendency.  This  is  of  interest,  as  in 
many  recorded  synaBsthesias  the  hereditary  tend- 
ency has  been  marked,  for  instance,  in  a  case 
of  Marinesco's  and  in  one  of  familial  colored 
hearing  reported  by  Laiquel-Lavastine.  Both 
colored  hearing  and  thinking  were  present,  in 


404       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

which  variants  of  blue  predominated.  There 
was  also  a  rudimentary  gustatory  synaes- 
thesia. 

What  are  the  cause  and  origin  of  this  interest- 
ing phenomenon,  this  linking  of  sound  with 
color,  apparently  contradictory  to  the  law  of  the 
specific  energy  of  the  senses?  Under  normal 
conditions,  any  form  of  stimulation  of  the  retina 
or  optic  nerve  would  always  produce  a  sensa- 
tion of  light  or  color,  or  the  stimulation  of  a 
"  cold  point "  in  the  skin  by  a  needle  or  a  hot 
wire  always  causes  a  sensation  of  cold.  The 
quality  of  the  reaction  is  a  constant  one,  in  spite 
of  the  variations  of  stimulus  used.  Whether 
this  specific  invariable  character  of  a  sensation 
resulting  from  different  stimuli  is  of  peripheral 
or  central  origin,  whether  localized  in  nervous 
end  structures  or  central  projection  fields  of 
the  brain  cortex  is  a  point  which  has  not  been 
entirely  cleared  up.  It  is  probable,  however, 
that  the  specificity  resides  as  much  in  the  end 
organs  as  in  the  cortex  itself.  A  synaesthesia 
seems  to  be  an  irradiation  of  the  specific  re* 
actions,  a  phenomenon  which  is  well  known 
in  experimental  physiology. 

In  any  case  the  synsesthesia  appears  to  be  a 
cortical  phenomenon,  partly  because  of  the  im- 
possibility of  producing  negative  or  positive 
after-images,  and  partly  because  the  synesthesia 


COLORED  HEARING  '405 

was  irreversible.  This  irreversibility  of  the  phe- 
nomenon would  also  seem  to  prove  that  it  was 
not  an  emotional  state,  but  rather  a  physiologi- 
cal condition,  due  possibly  to  a  physiological 
irradiation  of  impulses.  The  fact,  too,  that  in 
my  case  there  were  no  unconscious  linkings  of 
colors  with  sound,  and  also  that  the  photisms 
were  instantaneous,  and  had  not  varied  since 
they  were  first  experienced  in  early  childhood, 
would  argue  against  the  emotional  explanation 
of  the  condition.  This  invariability  of  the  color 
sensations  in  the  synsesthesia  for  years  has  also 
been  noted  by  Dressier  in  a  case  which  was 
observed  over  a  long  period  of  time. 

It  seems,  therefore,  that  we  are  probably 
dealing  with  an  incomplete,  almost  congenital, 
differentiation  of  the  sense  of  hearing  or  rather 
of  the  cortical  projection  fields  corresponding 
to  the  peripheral  auditory  and  visual  neurons. 
On  account  of  this  incomplete  differentiation, 
a  stimulus  (a  word  or  thought)  irradiates  or  is 
derailed  to  a  cortical  center  which  does  not  cor- 
respond physiologically  to  the  peripheral  neu- 
ron stimulated.  That  such  an  irradiation  of 
nervous  impulses  does  occur,  has  been  demon- 
strated experimentally  by  Sherrington  and  can 
be  explained  on  the  basis  of  different  conduc- 
tion resistances  offered  by  different  fibers, 
probably  an  over-facility  of  conduction  at  dif- 


406       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

ferent  synapses/  Thus  it  seems  that  the  theory 
of  nerve  irradiation,  arising  from  a  congenital 
defect  of  the  nervous  system,  in  which  the  stim- 
ulation of  one  center  passes  over  into  another, 
varying  with  the  individual  and  with  the  in- 
tensity of  the  provoked  sensation,  appears  at 
present  the  most  satisfactory  explanation  of  the 
various  synesthesias. 

Another  case  of  synassthesia  which  I  had  the 
opportunity  to  study  was  a  rare  type  of  the 
condition,  and  occurred  in  an  intelligent  woman 
of  forty  years  of  age.^  For  years  she  had  suf- 
fered with  an  hysterical  hemicrania  combined 
with  neurasthenic  symptoms  and  in  addition 
there  had  been  attacks  of  somnambulism  and, 
on  one  occasion,  a  transitory  paralysis  of  the 
legs.  A  right  hemihypoesthesia  could  be  dem- 
onstrated, while  the  field  of  vision  was  normal 
for  form  and  color. 

The  type  of  synsesthesia  from  which  this  sub- 
ject suffered  may  be  called  "  colored  pain."  As 
far  back  as  she  can  remember,  pain  had  pro- 
duced in  her  a  sensation  of  color.  When  a 
young  girl,  attacks  of  severe  abdominal  pain 
from  which  she  suffered  were  referred  to  as 
"  long   blue-black."     The   colors   produced   by 

*  A  synapse  may  be  defined  as  the  membrane  of  physiological 
connection  between  nerve  cells. 

■  Isador  H.  Coriat:  "An  Unusual  Type  of  Synesthesia."— 
Journal  Abnormal   Psychology,  Vol.  VIII,  No.  2,  1913. 


COLORED  HEARING  407 

pain  were  distinct  and  clear  and  various  kinds 
of  pain  always  produced  the  same  invariable 
color.  The  color  sensations  were  distinctly  vis- 
ualized as  a  mass  of  color,  of  no  particular 
shape.  If  the  pain,  however,  involved  a  jagged, 
longitudinal  or  round  area,  the  color  stimulated 
by  this  particular  type  of  pain  had  a  corre- 
sponding geometrical  figure.  Colors  were  pro- 
duced only  when  the  pain  was  severe  and  per- 
sistent. Slight  pain  usually  failed  to  produce 
colors.  When,  however,  the  pain  was  at  first 
slight  and  gradually  became  more  intense,  this 
increase  in  intensity  gradually  produced  a  sen- 
sation of  color  which  increased  in  vividness 
parallel  with  the  increase  in  the  intensity  of  the 
pain.  This  parallelism  between  color  sensa- 
tions and  intense  pain  was  probably  a  kind  of 
summation  of  stimuli  from  the  peripheral  pain 
points. 

Certain  emotional  associations  were  likewise 
present  in  these  color  phenomena,  since  the 
pains  which  produced  color  sensations  were 
usually  those  which  frightened  her  and  were 
associated  with  fear.  Conversely,  certain  colors 
like  yellow  and  green  produced  a  depressing 
effect  in  the  subject,  while  other  colors  like  red 
and  blue  were  referred  to  as  soothing.  In  the 
synaesthesia,  the  duration  of  the  color  sensation 
was  the  same  as  that  of  the  pain  which  pro- 


408       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

duced  it,  varying  in  its  intensity  and  disappear- 
ing simultaneously  witlj  the  disappearance  of 
the  pain. 

Each  type  of  pain  produced  its  individual  and 
invariable  color,  for  instance:  Hollow  pain,  blue 
color;  sore  pain,  red  color;  deep  headache,  vivid 
scarlet;  superficial  headache,  white  color;  shoot- 
ing neuralgic  pain,  white  color. 

The  hemicrania  attacks  always  produced  at 
first  a  feeling  of  "  blueness "  localized  on  the 
same  side  as  the  headache,  and  finally,  as  the  in- 
tensity of  the  headache  increased,  a  distinct  blue 
color  was  produced. 

Bearing  in  mind  the  physiological  theory 
which  I  had  formulated  to  explain  these  synaes- 
thesic  phenomena,  namely,  an  irradiation  of 
peripheral  nervous  impulses,  some  experiments 
were  carried  out  by  means  of  Von  Frey's  hair 
sesthesiometer.^  Careful  testing  with  this  in- 
strument could  demonstrate  a  hemihypoesthesia, 
always  corresponding  to  the  side  of  the  body 
on  which  the  last  attack  of  headache  occurred. 
In  the  testing  of  both  sides  of  the  body  with 
the  aesthesiometer  and  attempting  to  stimulate 
the  pain  points,  rather  than  the  pressure  points, 
there  could  be  demonstrated  an  unusually  pro- 
longed persistence  of  the  pain  sensation  after 

*  A  delicate  instrument  to  test  sensation,  by  means  of  Tail- 
ing lengths  of  a  hair. 


COLORED  HEARING  409 

the  cessation  of  the  stimulus.  The  duration  of 
this  persistence  varied  with  the  length  of  the 
testing  hair  in  millimeters  and  was  the  same 
for  both  sides  of  the  body.  During  this  ab- 
normal persistence  of  the  sensation,  there  was  a 
subjective  feeling  of  fluctuation  of  the  stimulus, 
that  is,  a  periodic  increase  and  decrease  in  the 
intensity  of  the  pain  perception  which  suddenly 
ceased,  resembling  somewhat  the  fluctuating 
fatigue  of  the  field  of  vision  in  hysteria  and 
neurasthenia.  The  condition  was  somewhat 
analogous  to  the  prolonged  persistence  of  a 
visual  after-image. 

The  exact  figures  were  as  follows: — 

Hair  length  of  Persistence  of 
jBsthesiometer  sensation 

40  mm.  17.2  sees. 

30  mm.  43.8  sees. 

20  mm.  66.6  sees. 

10  mm.  84.8  sees. 

The  hair  length  could  be  easily  measured  on 
the  scale  of  the  instrument,  while  the  time  was 
accurately  taken  with  a  stop-watch. 

Comparative  tests  in  a  normal  individual, 
with  the  same  varying  hair  lengths  (40  mm.  to 
10  mm.),  showed  a  persistence  of  sensation 
varying  from  2.5  sees,  to  3.8  sees,  on  the  palms 


410       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

of  the  hands,  and  from  5.4  sees,  to  7.2  sees, 
on  the  face.  These  figures  were  thus  markedly 
smaller  than  in  the  syneesthesie  subject  and 
probably  represented  the  normal  persistence  of 
an  after-sensation  on  stimulating  the  pain 
points.  Furthermore  in  the  normal  individual 
there  was  no  fluctuation  of  the  sensation,  but  it 
gradually  decreased  in  intensity. 

In  the  subject,  too,  it  was  possible  to  actually 
produce  an  artificial  pain  synsesthesia,  with 
varying  degrees  of  hair  length  of  the  sesthesi- 
ometer,  a  rather  convincing  proof  that  the  con- 
dition was  produced  by  a  physiological  irradia- 
tion of  peripheral  pain  sensations.  The  figures 
and  results  were  as  follows: — 


Hair  length 
(mm.) 
40 
SO 
90 
10 

• 

8 

7 

6 

5 

4 

3 

3 


Right  side 

(hjrpoesthetic  ) 

no  color  sensation 


slight  redness 


Left  side 
(normal) 
no  color  sensation 


slight  redness 


distinct    red    sensation 
strong 


It  will  be  noted  that  the  beginning  of  the  red- 
ness on  the  normal  side  was  simultaneous  with 
the  time  of  greatest   persistence   of   sensation 


COLORED  HEARING  411 

1(10  mm.  hair  =  84.8  sees,  persistenee) .  Further- 
more, the  synaesthesia,  on  the  normal  side,  could 
be  artificially  produced  sooner  and  with  a 
greater  hair-length  than  on  the  hypoesthetic 
side. 

In  this  case  we  seem  to  be  dealing  with  a 
peculiar  and  unusual  type  of  synaesthesia,  in 
that  an  abnormal  (or  artificial)  stimulation  of 
the  peripheral  pain  neurons  of  the  skin  stimu- 
lated at  the  same  time,  possibly  through  a 
physiological  irradiation  or  a  derailment  of  the 
pain-impulses,  a  sensation  of  color,  a  theory  in 
harmony  with  the  one  I  devised  for  the  ex- 
planation of  colored  hearing.  The  fact 
that  the  synaesthesia  could  be  artificially  pro- 
duced by  peripheral  stimuli  does  not  mili- 
tate against  the  condition  being  a  central  phe- 
nomenon. 

In  certain  writers,  for  instance  in  the  so- 
called  French  symbolist  poets  (Rimbaud  par- 
ticularly, in  his  famous  sonnet  in  which  he  desig- 
nates the  color  of  the  vowels,  Marie,  Baudelaire, 
Verlaine),  colored  hearing  seems  to  have  been 
present.  The  phenomenon  was  also  found  in 
Lafcadio  Hearn  and  is  described  by  him  with 
his  usual  psychological  insight.  "  For  me  words 
have  color,  form,  character.  .  .  .  The  read- 
ers do  not  feel  as  you  do  about  words.  They 
can't  be  supposed  to  know  that  you  think  the 


412        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

letter   A   is   blush-crimson,   and   the   letter   E 
pale-sky-blue."  ^ 

Sometimes  artists  will  also  show  a  rudimen- 
tary unconscious  linking  of  sound  with  color, 
probably  due  to  the  nature  of  their  work.  I  had 
the  opportunity  to  observe  the  condition  in  one 
artist,  in  whom  the  synesthesia  developed  only 
after  he  had  begun  to  study  painting  in  his 
early  youth.  In  this  subject,  harsh  and  loud 
music  produced  instantaneously  a  sensation  of 
red  and  yeUow  while  soft  music  caused  a  violet 
and  blue  sensation.  A  clash  of  cymbals  pro- 
duced a  red-yellow  sensation,  a  harp,  a  blue- 
violet  sensation.  The  colors  were  intense  and 
persisting  during  the  entire  duration  of  the 
music.  The  colors  were  designated  as  pure, 
"as  if  they  came  out  of  a  tube."  In  the  red- 
yellow  synaesthesia,  sometimes  the  red  would 
predominate,  sometimes  the  yellow.  The  violet- 
green  synaesthesia  ^resembled  the  color  of  waves 
on  the  water.  As  in  my  other  cases,  there 
was  no  reversibility  of  the  synaesthesia,  namely, 
none  of  the  colors  were  able  to  produce  musical 
sensations. 

» "  The    Japanese    Letters    of   Lafcadio    Hearn."— Edited    by 
Elisabeth  Bisland,  1910. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  PREVENTION  OF  THE  NEUROSES 

Modern  medicine  concerns  itself  more  with 
the  prevention  of  disease  than  its  cure.  What 
then  has  abnormal  psychology  to  teach  us  con- 
cerning the  prevention  of  the  psycho-neuroses, 
a  group  of  diseases  which  more  than  any  other 
incapacitates  the  individual  and  produces  far- 
reaching  effects  upon  our  social  organization? 
It  seemed  wise,  before  bringing  this  book  to  a 
close,  to  add  a  few  words  on  the  prevention  of 
the  psycho-neuroses,  as  far  as  this  Hes  within  our 
power.  To  begin  with,  in  the  normal  individ- 
ual, that  is,  the  one  who  is  free  from  a  nervous 
taint,  but  who  is  liable  to  social  frictions,  curi- 
osities of  character  and  oddities,  a  psycho- 
analysis of  his  innermost  tendencies  would  be 
of  great  benefit  in  giving  him  the  clue  for  a 
better  control  of  them  and  thus  a  better  ad- 
justment to  surroundings  and  to  the  capabilities 
of  life  and  action.  In  a  way  such  an  analysis 
might  prevent  any  delusional  interpretation  of 
conflicts  with  the  environment,  so  characteristic 

413 


'414       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

of  the  paranoiac  mental  make-up  and  thus  give 
the  clue  to  an  intelligent  and  well-adapted 
adjustment. 

It  is  in  the  child^  however,  that  our  efforts 
will  be  most  productive,  for,  as  was  repeatedly 
shown  in  these  pages,  many  of  the  adult  psycho- 
neuroses  have  their  origin  in  the  unconscious 
mental  conflicts  and  repressions,  usually  of  a 
sexual  character,  in  early  childhood.  In  fact 
so  early  may  they  appear,  that  the  amnesia  or 
forgetting  of  the  events  later  in  life  tends  to 
make  one  incriminate  a  more  or  less  hypotheti- 
cal hereditary  disposition,  rather  than  one's  own 
unconscious  and  repressed  thoughts.  In  chil- 
dren precocious  sexual  excitement  should  be 
avoided  and  children  should  not  be  exposed  to 
an  over-caressing,  excessive  parental  affection. 
Otherwise  this  persistence  of  infantile  fixation 
in  the  son  or  daughter  might  lead  to  various 
pathological  reactions  in  adult  life.  (CEdipus- 
complex.)  The  only  or  "  favorite "  child  is 
particularly  liable  to  be  spoiled  by  the  develop- 
ment of  these  complexes.  The  baneful  results 
of  these  unconscious  complexes  are  well  known, 
leading  on  the  one  hand  to  homo-sexuality  with 
its  misery  and  unhappiness  and  on  the  other  to 
sexual  anaesthesia,  which  latter  is  the  basis  of 
so  many  divorces  on  the  ground  of  "  conjugal 
incompatibility." 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  THE  NEUROSES      415 

The  uninitiated  mother  or  father  will  tend  to 
deny  this  important  fact  and  interpret  it  as  only 
a  scientific  fancy  in  the  mind  of  the  writer.  But 
modern  psycho-pathological  investigations  have 
shown  that  these  unconscious  conflicts  lead  a 
dynamic  existence,  conflicts  repressed  and  hid- 
den even  from  the  parents  and  only  brought  out 
through  psycho-analytic  investigation. 

Thus  the  prevention  of  the  psycho-neuroses  is 
to  be  found  in  the  individual  rather  than  in  the 
minimizing  of  the  injurious  influences  of  the 
rush  and  progress  of  modern  civilization.  An 
individual  breaks  down,  not  so  much  from 
fatigue  or  overwork  or  from  "  brain  fag " 
(whatever  that  may  mean),  but  from  his  own 
mental  conflicts,  from  sexual  self-reproaches 
dating  from  childhood  and  from  the  injurious 
repression  of  the  sexual  instinct. 

There  are  several  ways  of  directing  the  sexual 
feelings  and  converting  or  transferring  them  to 
other  emotional  spheres.  The  best  method  of 
controlling  suppressed  sexual  emotions  is  to 
change  or  attach  these  to  higher  artistic  or  intel- 
lectual interests  and  not  allow  free  sexual 
expression  or  the  running  rampant  in  sexual 
vice.^  This  process,  called  sublimation,  is  a  de- 
flection of  the  sexual  aim  and  the  utilizing  of 

*  See  my  paper  **  Psycho-Analysis  and  the  Sexual  Hygiene  of 
Children."— rft«  Child,  January,   1912. 


416       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

sexual  energy  for  other  purposes  of  cultural 
demands.  The  help  derived  from  psycho- 
analysis is  partly  through  this  sublimating 
process. 

Culture  and  social  conventionalities  are  built 
upon  a  repression  of  instincts,  a  strangling  of 
emotions,  and  the  revenge  of  the  nervous 
system  upon  this  repression  is  the  breaking  out 
of  a  psycho-neurosis.  Our  inconsistencies  in 
this  regard  are  startling:  one  must  not,  for 
instance,  act  in  a  voluptuous  manner  in  public, 
unless  it  be  in  some  form  of  a  social  dance,  and 
even  our  language  is  full  of  this  repression  and 
veiled  sexual  symbolism.  Hysterical  outbreaks 
of  violence,  such  as  characterize  the  so-called 
militant  suffragettes  in  England,  are  probably 
the  result  of  a  repression  to  which  certain 
classes  of  women  think  they  have  been  subjected 
by  the  opposite  sex,  and  so  here  again,  as  in 
the  hysteria  of  an  individual,  the  sexual  conflict 
is  the  dynamic  force  at  work.  In  a  significant 
phrase  of  Adler's,^  it  is  a  reaction  against  the 
**  masculine  protest " — ^that  is,  an  insistence  on 
independence,  a  feeling  that  to  give  up  would 
mean  surrender  and  thus  an  over-compensation 
arises  in  the  form  of  aggression.  Freud  well 
says,  "  Before  everything  else,  however,  there 
must  be  opened  in  the  general  thought  a  chance 

■Alfred  Adler:  "Ueber  den  Nervosen  Charakter."— 1912. 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  THE  NEUROSES      417 

for  the  discussion  of  the  sexual  problem;  one 
must  be  able  to  speak  of  these  things  without 
being  pronounced  a  disturber  of  the  peace  or 
a  delver  in  the  vulgar  instinct,  and  there  re- 
mains enough  work  here  for  a  century  in  which 
our  civilization  must  learn  to  live  according  to 
the  demands  of  our  sexuality."  If  we  are  to 
have  a  natural,  healthy  sexual  education,  it 
must  be,  not  like  what  is  now  sweeping  like  a 
sexual  epidemic  all  over  the  world,  and  teaching 
the  child  and  the  adult  what  they  must  not 
do,  but  rather  what  they  must  do,  an  avoidance 
of  sexual  errors  and  a  transforming  or  sublima- 
tion of  the  various  emotional  repressions  into 
intellectual  work  and  athletic  activity.  This 
sexual  enlightenment  in  the  child,  if  properly 
done,  can  do  much  to  prevent  the  mental  con- 
flicts and  the  erotic  fantasies  which  are  so 
productive  of  harm  in  later  years.  Thus  the 
prevention  of  nervous  diseases  is  our  individual 
problem,  no  amount  of  propaganda  or  teaching 
can  do  any  good,  unless  the  individual  oversight 
of  the  child  is  given  its  proper  attention.  By 
avoiding  repression,  mental  conflicts,  and  emo- 
tional shocks  we  can  in  a  large  measure  circum- 
vent, if  not  entirely  prevent,  the  psycho- 
neuroses.  Children  should  be  impressed  with 
the  fact  that  sexuality  is  clean  and  the 
affairs  of  sexual  life  should  not  be  made  a  se- 


418        DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

cret  any  more  than  their  food  or  their  religious 
beKefs. 

For  this  unwarrantable  attitude  blame  must 
be  placed  upon  the  unconscious  elements  of  so- 
ciety. As  the  social  unconscious  which  is  really 
a  repository  for  childhood  ideas  and  primitive 
beliefs  is  able  to  produce  myths  and  folk-lore, 
in  many  instances  these  being  merely  disguises 
and  symbolizations  for  repressed  sexual  emo- 
tions, so  the  unconscious  of  the  modern  social 
organization  is  constantly  suppressing  sexual 
truths  in  the  struggle  against  facts  of  sex. 
Thus  arise  prudery  and  frigidity,  the  shutting 
of  the  eyes  of  society  and  the  individual  against 
the  naked  facts,  so  valuable  for  the  welfare  of 
the  race.  It  is  this  unwarranted  suppression 
for  which  society  pays  the  price,  in  the  form 
of  the  various  psycho-neuroses. 

Thus  repression  may  lead  to  conversion  into 
bodily  symptoms  as  in  hysteria,  or  when  a  com- 
pensating thought  is  substituted  for  the  repres- 
sion, to  psychasthenia  and  the  compulsion  neu- 
roses. The  outward  projection  of  a  repressed 
but  forbidden  wish  may  manifest  itself  in  dis- 
eases such  as  paranoia  or  in  certain  abnormal 
beliefs,  as  in  the  mediaeval  conceptions  of  the 
devil.  In  fact,  in  times  less  enlightened  than 
ours,  the  yielding  to  a  forbidden  sexual  wish 
was  often  attributed  to  demoniac  possession  or 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  THE  NEUROSES      419 

to  the  influence  of  witches.  When  the  uncon- 
scious breaks  through  into  consciousness,  and 
the  unconscious  wish  thus  comes  into  conflict 
with  reality,  a  psycho-neurosis  develops.  Thus 
psycho-analytic  interpretations  are  of  value,  in 
not  only  enabUng  us  to  understand  the  mechan- 
ism of  certain  nervous  diseases,  but  the  mechan- 
ism of  society  as  well. 

In  bringing  this  book  to  a  conclusion,  a 
brief  recapitulation  and  survey  may  not  be 
without  service.  The  ground  covered  is  a  wide 
one,  while  the  experimental  and  clinical  re- 
searches on  abnormal  psychology,  with  its 
practical  application  to  medicine,  are  becoming 
more  extensive  and  assuming  an  increasing 
importance  for  thinking  men  and  women.  Yet 
the  field  is  new  and  the  principles,  although 
fundamental,  are  only  partially  defined.  Much 
remains  to  be  done,  particularly  on  the  nature 
of  consciousness  and  the  unconscious  in  its  nor- 
mal and  abnormal  states  and  of  the  mysterious 
relations  existing  between  the  mind  and  the 
body.  This  latter  problem  in  particular  is  now 
the  subject  of  exact  experimental  research, 
whereas  formerly  it  entered  only  into  the  field 
of  philosophical  dialectic.  The  present  status 
of  abnormal  psychology  may  be  summed  up  in 
the   pertinent    language   of    Professor    James. 


420       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

In  speaking  of  the  present  situation  in  philos- 
ophy, referring  particularly  to  Bergson,  Pro- 
fessor James  says:  "What  really  exists  is  not 
things  made,  but  things  in  the  making.  Once 
made  they  are  dead." 

The  earlier  portion  of  the  book,  dealing  with 
the  various  theories  of  the  subconscious,  is  es- 
pecially open  to  new  light.  The  theories  given 
and  most  favored  are  those  which  exact  experi- 
ment has  shown  to  be  of  most  value  to  psycho- 
pathology  and  psychotherapeutics.  For  obvious 
reasons,  I  have  not  included  any  philosophical 
conception  of  the  subconscious  such  as  that  of 
Von  Hartmann.  My  principal  object  has  been 
threefold,  first,  to  strip  the  subconscious  of 
any  supernormal  ability  or  power — second,  to 
limit  it  to  the  various  mental  functions  estab- 
lished by  brain  physiology,  thus  making  it  syn- 
onymous with  mental  dissociation  and  with 
complex  mental  processes  of  which  we  are  un- 
aware— and  third,  to  show  how  certain  func- 
tional nervous  disorders  may  be  produced  by 
perversions  of  unconscious  mental  processes. 
For  this  purpose,  certain  methods  of  exploring 
the  subconscious  mental  life,  according  to  the 
principles  of  experimental  physiology  and  psy- 
chology, have  been  discussed  rather  fully,  thus 
clearing  the  way  for  a  correct  view  of  the  place 
occupied  by  automatism  and  the  effect  of  re- 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  THE  NEUROSES      421 

pressed  emotions  in  the  domain  of  psycho- 
pathology.  The  broad  field  of  Freud's  theories 
of  the  unconscious,  with  their  bearing  upon 
dreams,  the  neuroses  and  psycho-analysis,  upon 
society,  literature,  and  folk-lore,  is  of  incalcula- 
ble value.  Its  investigations  have  already  done 
much  to  prevent,  as  well  as  to  cure,  certain 
diseases,  and  the  future  of  psycho-analysis  thus 
becomes  of  paramount  importance  for  the  race 
as  well  as  for  the  individual.  Psycho-analysis 
thus  becomes  synthetic  as  well  as  analytical,  it 
can  reassociate  the  destructive  forces  at  work 
in  the  unconscious  of  the  individual  and  point 
the  way  for  a  natural  outlet  of  his  energies 
and  inherent  creative  ability  in  the  form  of 
what  is  termed  "  sublimation." 

The  establishment  of  the  fact  that  certain 
functional  nervous  disturbances,  technically 
known  as  the  psycho-neuroses,  are  caused  by 
subconscious  or  dissociated  activities,  may  per- 
haps be  called  one  of  the  triumphs  of  modem 
research  in  abnormal  psychology.  The  part 
played  by  these  dissociated  mental  processes  in 
the  origin  of  certain  functional  disorders,  is  per- 
haps more  extensive  than  many  physicians  are 
at  present  disposed  to  concede,  but  clinical 
evidence  is  fast  accumulating  to  show  that 
these  disturbances  can  only  be  understood  if 
this  interpretation  is  placed  upon  them,  thus 


422       DISEASES  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS 

clearing  the  way  for  an  intelligent  psycho- 
therapeutic treatment.  We  must  remember 
that  from  the  moment  an  action  falls  from  the 
domain  of  the  purposive  into  that  of  the  habit- 
ual, it  ceases  to  be  under  the  direct  control  of 
consciousness  and  becomes  allied  to  certain 
automatisms,  either  unconscious  or  subcon- 
scious. What  is  true  of  purposive  actions  also 
holds  true  as  regards  conscious  thought.  It  is 
this  mechanism  which  enters  into  the  causation 
of  certain  psycho-neuroses.  It  is  not  improb- 
able that  states  of  mind  may  originate  certain 
functional  disorders,  as  in  a  reverse  manner 
physical  maladies  may  give  rise  to  morbid  states 
of  mind.  We  refer  particularly  to  the  effect 
of  the  emotions  upon  the  gastro-intestinal  tract, 
as  established  by  recent  exact  physiological 
research. 

The  subject  of  abnormal  psychology  is  one 
that  has  but  recently  been  critically  examined, 
and  therefore  the  vast  territory  covered  by 
this  important  branch  of  medical  science  has 
been  only  partially  explored.  The  object  of 
these  pages  has  been  to  discuss  only  so  much 
as  has  been  already  ascertained  from  exact 
experiment  and  clinical  research.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  state  at  present  how  far  these  re- 
searches may  extend,  but  sufficient  is  already 
known  to  enable  us  to  formulate  certain  funda- 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  THE  NEUROSES      423 

mental  principles,  which  are  of  great  value  in 
certain  psychotherapeutic  procedures.  The 
literature  on  the  subject  is  already  vast,  and 
for  the  general  reader  I  have  attempted  to 
give  a  summary  of  only  the  most  important 
researches.  In  presenting  these  facts  and  in- 
dicating their  bearing  upon  psychotherapeutic 
methods,  I  feel  that  my  task  for  the  present 
is  as  complete  as  I  can  make  it,  and  as  such 
I  am  content  to  leave  it  to  the  patient  study 
of  the  impartial  reader. 


THE  END 


INDEX 


Abraham,  K.,  SO,  175-181. 
Absent-mindedness,  22-26. 
Adler,  A.,  223,  416. 
Amnesia,  22-23,  30-31. 

Continuous,  248. 

Hysterical,   336. 

Lowell  Case  of,  250-254. 

Retrograde,  247. 

Synthesis  of,  254-271. 

Various  types  of,  246-249. 
Anxiety  Crises,  358-360. 
Anxiety   Neuroses,  380-382. 
Aphasia,  5. 
Apraxia,    5. 

Association  centres  in  the  brain, 
83-85. 

Neuroses,  357-358. 

Physiological  basis  of,  8,  85- 
66. 
Association  tests,  86-102. 

in  dementia  prsecox,  96-97. 

in  juvenile  delinquency,  101- 
102. 

in  manic-depressive  insanity, 
98-99. 
Auto-erotism,  186. 
Automatic  lau^ter,  80. 
Automatic  writing,  13-14,  39-53. 

as  a  dissociation,   13-14,  45- 
47. 

as  a  wish  fulfillment,  53. 

Babinski,  J.,  317. 
Bain,  A.,  76. 
Bechterew,  W.,   194. 
Bergson,  H.,  5. 
Bernheim,  H.,  194. 
Bleuler,  E.,  91. 
Braid,  J.,  194. 
Brain  and  Memory,  5. 


Brener,   J.,  34. 
Brill,  A.  A.,  21,  399. 
Briquet,  300. 

Calkins,  Mary  Whiton,  140. 
Cannon,  W.  B-,  61-62. 
Chandler,  A.  R.,  20. 
Charcot,  J.  M.,  194,  300. 
Childhood  sexuality,  185-187. 
Claparfede,  E.,  76,  109,  192,  19T. 
Co-conscious,  15-16. 
Complex  defined,  8,  36-37. 
Complex   indicators,   89. 
Compulsion  neuroses,  340-341. 
Consciousness,  6-7. 

Automatic  theory  of,  7. 

Parallelistic  theory  of,  7. 
Coriat,  I.  H.,  20,  38,  101,  113, 
132,  149,  181,  249,  275-276, 
336,  397,  406,  415. 
Crystal  visions,  47-51. 
Cyclothemia,  365. 

Dementia  praecox,  92-97. 
Dessoir,  Max,  15. 
Dissociation,  8,  26. 
Dreams,  138-188. 

in    abnormal    mental    states, 
141-142. 

in  amnesia,  149-152. 

of  the  blind,  159-160. 

in  delirium,  157-159. 

in  multiple  personality,  142- 
153. 

as    manifestations   of   active 
consciousness,   146-147. 

Artificial,   147. 

Theories  of,  139-142. 

Recurrent,   153-154. 

Instigators  of,  143-146,  156. 


426 


426 


INDEX 


Dreams : 
Physical  effects   of,  154-155. 
Freud's  theory  of,  161-185. 
Manifest  and  latent  content, 

163. 
Dream  mechanisms,  154-168. 
Dreams  as  wish  fulfillments, 

168-173. 
Dream  censorship,  174. 
Typical  dreams,  174-185. 
Dreams  and  Myths,  20,  175- 

181. 
CEdipus-complex  dreams,  179- 

184. 
Hjrpermnesic  dreams,  184-185. 
Nakedness  dreams,  185. 
Dreams    and   Sexuality,   185- 

187. 
Number  dreams,  31-39. 

Ellis,  Havelock,  186. 
Emotions,   54-102. 

in  animals,  56-57. 

Central  theory  of,  59-63. 

Dissociating  effect  of,  73-76. 

Electrical  reactions  in,  68-70. 

Evolution  of,  54-55. 

Gastro-intestinal    accompani- 
ments of,  60-63. 

Pathology  of,  71-79. 

Peripheral  theory  of,  58-60. 

Physiology  of,  57-58. 

Pulse  reactions  in,  65-68. 

in  religion,  71. 

Synthetic  effect  of,  76-78. 
Everyday  life,  psychology  of, 
26-27. 

Fatigue,  367-371. 

Fear     Neuroses,     73,     346-347, 

353-357. 
F€t6,  Ch.,  72. 
Ferenczi,  197. 
Flight  of  ideas,  97-99. 
Flournoy,  13-14,  44,  47,281,395. 
Forgetting  of  names,  22-23. 
Forel,  A.,  191. 
Freud,  S.,  17-21,  26-27,  34,  92, 

141,   161-188,  218-222,  329- 

329. 


Gilbert,  J.  A.,  125. 
Goltz,  F.,  58. 
Gowers,    W.   R.,  388. 

Hamlet  and  GBdipus  Complex, 

20. 
Hartenberg,  P.,  379. 
Hearn,  L.,  274,  412. 
Hering,  E.,  243. 
Heubel,  E.,  108. 
Hypnagogic  State,  130-135. 
Hypnagogic         Hallucinations, 

126. 
Hypnosis,  189-210. 
as     absent-mindedness,     203- 

208. 
in  animals,  114,  190-192. 
as    an    artificial    hypnagogic 

state,  201-203. 
Circulatory    theory  of,    195- 

196. 
Chemical  theory  of,  196. 
Claparfede's  theory  of,  197. 
Histological  theory  of,  195. 
Hypnosis        and        Psycho- 
analysis, 197. 
Psychology  of,   197. 
as    a   modification    of   sleep, 

194. 
Therapeutic    value    of,    208- 

210. 
Evolution  of,  193-199. 
Hyslop,  J.  H.,  44,  281. 
Hysteria,  Amnesia  in,  336. 
Anaesthesia  in,  305-307. 
Convulsions  in,  310. 
Juvenile    types    of,    301-309, 

331-332. 
in  Lady  Macbeth,  20. 
in  primitive  races  and  chil- 
dren, 331-332. 
Mental  symptoms  of,  311. 
Paralysis  in,  303-304. 
Psycho-analysis  of,  218-238. 
Visual  field  in,  307-309. 
Hysteria,  theories  of: 
Earlier  theories,  300-301. 
Babinski's  theory,  315-317. 
Freud's  theory,  322-330. 
Janet's  theory,  312-315. 


INDEX 


427 


Hysteria,  theories  of: 
Prince's  theory,  317-321. 
Soilier's  theory,  317. 

Insomnia,  136-129. 

Jsunes,  William,  59- 

Janet,    Pierre,    16,   33-34,    128, 

248,  282,  295,  308,  312,  331, 

339. 
Jastrow,  J.,  160. 
Jones,  Ernest,  20,  134. 
Jung,  C.  S.,  65,  92,  223-226. 
Juvenile  Delinquency,  101-102. 

Lady  Macbeth,  Hysteria  of,  20. 
Lange,  S.,  58. 

Laughter,  Bergson's  theory  of, 
79. 

Manaceine,  Marie  de,  125,  145. 
Marinesco,  G.,  392. 
Maury,   144. 

Memory,   Biological  theory  of, 
241-244. 

Illusions  of,  272-279. 

Psychology  of,  245-249. 

Restoration    of    lost   periods 
in,  244-257,  259-271. 
Mental  Manias,  350-352. 
Mesmer,   193. 
Mobius,  P.  J.,  300. 
Mosso,  A.,  105,  367. 
Multiple  Personality,  Case  of, 
280-296. 

Complex  types,  281. 

as  hypnotic  phenomena,  280- 
281. 

as  a  hysterical  state,  320-321. 
Mlinsterberg,   H.,   13. 
Myers,  F.  W-  H.,  11. 

Neurasthenia,  Causes  of,  373. 
as  a  dissociation,  374-375. 
Not  a  fatigue  neurosis,  369- 

871. 
as  a  stigma  of  hysteria,  372. 
Symptoms  of,  378-381. 
Treatment  of,  382-383. 
Neuroses,    Prevention   of,  413- 
419. 


Nightmare,   134. 

Nocturnal  Paralysis,  132-133. 

Obsessions,  346-350. 

Paramnesia,   22,   272-279. 

in    Alcoholic    Insanity,    276- 
279. 

as  a  temporary  dissociation, 
274-276. 
Patrick,  G.  T.  W.,  125. 
Pawlow,  J.  P.,  60-61. 
Peterson,  F.,  237. 
Prince,  Morton,   11,   15-16,  26, 

35,    153,   206,  237,  318. 
Psychasthenia,  339-363. 

as  a  dissociation,  344. 

Symptoms  of,  339-340. 

Treatment  of,  363. 
Psycho- Analysis : 

Adler's  views,  223. 

Freud's  views,  213-225. 

General  principles  and  meth- 
ods of,  211-218. 

of  Hamlet,  20. 

in  Hysteria,  228-238. 

Jung's  views,  223-226. 

of  Lady  Macbeth,  20. 
Psycho-cardiac   reflex,   65-68. 
Psycho-epileptic    attacks,    384- 

391. 
Psycho-galvanic  reaction,  68-70. 
Psychotherapy,  37,  38. 
Putnam,  J.  J.,  218-221. 

Reserve  Energy,  76. 

Retinal  After-images,  6. 

Salmon,  106. 

Sante  de  Sanctis,  140. 

Sergi,  G.,  58. 

Sexuality    in    Childhood,    185- 

187. 
Sherrington,  C.  S.,  59-60,  369. 
Sidis,  Boris,  111,  151. 
Sleep,    Biological    theories    of, 
109-117. 

Chemical  theories  of,  107-108. 

Coriat's  theory  of,  113-117. 

Depth  of,  129. 

Effects  of  loss  of,  124-12S. 


488 


INDEX 


Sleep: 

Evolution  of,  117-121. 

Histological  theories  of,  106- 
107. 

Necessity  for,  122-124. 

Physiological     Theories     of, 
108-109. 
Slips  of  pen,  28. 
Sollier,  P.,  317. 
Somnambulism,  137. 
Sophocles  and  Freudian  Meth- 
od, 20. 
Stammering,  381-382. 
Strong,  C.  A.,  7. 
Strumpell,  A.,  108. 
Subconscious,     as     an     active 
thinking  Process,  13-14. 

Defined,  3-9,  38. 

in  disease,  32-38. 

in  everyday  life,  22-32. 

as  an  inactive  mental  state, 
12. 

as  a  marginal  state,  11. 

Modern  theories  of,  9-21. 

as  a  physiological  process,  12. 

as  split-ofi"  ideas,  11. 

as   subliminal  self,   11-12. 

Dessoir's  theory  of,  15. 

Freud's  theory  of,  17-21. 


Subconscious: 

Janet's  theory  of,  16. 

Prince's  theory  of,  15-16. 
Sublimation,  415. 
Synaesthesia,  definition  of,  392. 

Flournoy's  classification,  395. 

Theories   of,   396-397. 

Case  reports,  397-411. 

Coriat's  theory  of,  404-406. 

in  artists,  412. 

in  literature,  411-412. 

Tarchanoff,  106. 
Tics,  352-353. 
Tissie,  Ph.,  141. 
Traumatic  Neuroses,  73. 
Tromner,  110. 
Tropisms,  118. 
Tyndall,  5. 

Unconscious,  Freud's  theory  of, 

17-21. 
Unreality,  feeling  of,  359-363. 

Verrall,  Mrs.  A.  W.,  39. 
Verworn,  Max,  190-191. 
Void,  J.  M.,  141. 

Wit,  Freud's  theory  of,  79. 


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